THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


LESTER  MCDOWELL 


THE    METHODS    OF 
TEACHING  SHORTHAND 


THE  METHODS  OF 
TEACHING    SHORTHAND 


A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 
ON  THE  SOLUTIONS  OF 
CLASSROOM  PROBLEMS 


BY 


EDWARD  J.  MCNAMARA,   M.A. 

Lecturer  on  ike  Methods  of  Teaching  Shorthand,   Adelphi  College, 

Brooklyn,  AT.V.,  and  Teacher  of  Shorthand,  Jamaica 

High  School,   New   York  City 


NEW   YORK 

ISAAC    PITMAN     &     SONS 

2  WEST  FORTY-FIFTH  STREET 

1914 


o 

vr\ 


PREFACE 

IN  the  pages  which  follow  there  is  outlined  a  plan 
of  instruction  for  shorthand  classes  that,  it  is 
hoped,  will  furnish  practical  solutions  to  many  of 
the  problems  that  confront  the  teacher  in  the 
classroom.  So  far  as  known  this  is  the  first 
attempt  to  formulate  the  principles  of  shorthand 
instruction  using  modern  principles  of  pedagogy 
as  a  basis  ;  it  will  probably  be  followed  by  similar 
books  dealing  with  the  pedagogy  of  other  com- 
mercial subjects,  for  preparation  for  a  business 
career  is  every  day  becoming  more  important  and 
it  is  only  a  matter  of  a  very  short  time  when  the 
most  efficient  methods  of  imparting  this  know- 
ledge or  skill  will  be  established.  At  the  present 
time  there  are  many  ideas  in  this  branch  of  educa- 
tion that  are  unthinkingly  accepted  and  have  for 
their  raison  d'etre  only  a  questionable  tradition. 

The  principles  of  instruction  formulated  in  this 
book  took  form  as  a  result  of  the  work  done  in 
connection  with  the  course  which  the  writer  gave 
for  two  years  in  the  Methods  of  Teaching  Short- 
hand and  Typewriting  at  Adelphi  College,  Brooklyn. 
The  teachers  who  were  enrolled  brought  their  class- 
room problems  for  discussion  and  the  experience 
of  the  many  was  used  to  find  the  solution.  These 
lectures  were  further  enriched  by  reports  of  the 


VI  PREFACE 

teachers  covering  extensive  observations  of  short- 
hand classes  in  New  York  City  and  vicinity. 
Gradually  the  principles  underlying  the  various 
methods  of  instruction  began  to  shape  themselves 
and  the  writer  was  induced  to  put  them  into  book 
form  for  the  guidance  and  assistance  of  those  who 
wish  to  enter  the  ranks  of  shorthand  teachers. 

While  all  of  the  shorthand  examples  mentioned 
deal  with  Pitmanic  systems,  yet  in  the  main  the 
principles  enunciated  may  be  applied  regardless 
of  the  system  of  shorthand  taught ;  the  book  is 
not  intended  as  a  shorthand  reference  book,  but 
it  deals  with  questions  of  teaching  technique  that 
are  likely  to  arise  in  any  class,  no  matter  which 
system  is  used. 

If  teachers  who  read  this  book  are  moved  to 
challenge  their  methods  of  instruction,  or  perhaps 
even  find  a  few  helpful  suggestions,  an  inspiration 
or  two,  the  work  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

In  conclusion  the  author  wishes  to  express  his 
thanks  to  the  many  earnest  teachers  who  worked 
with  him  in  his  courses  at  Adelphi  College,  and 
to  the  many  friends  who,  by  their  words  of 
encouragement,  made  the  work  pleasurable.  A 
word  of  appreciation  is  also  due  to  Mr.  Edwin  A. 
Bolger,  Commercial  High  School,  Brooklyn,  for 
his  kindness  in  reading  the  proofs. 

BROOKLYN,  N.Y., 

24th  September,  1913 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

PREFACE          .....  V 

i.    TEACHER'S  PREPARATION  .         .        1 

II.      AIM  OF  INSTRUCTION  .  .  .11 

III.  MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  IN"  A  SHORTHAND 

CLASS 21 

IV.  TEACHING  DEVICES    ....         36 
V.      ELEMENTS   IN   THE   RECITATION  .          47 

VI.      LESSON  TYPES  IN   SHORTHAND     .  .         61 

VII.      PLANS  FOR  INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION    .          71 
VIII.      ESSENTIALS  OF   SHORTHAND    SPEED       .         83 
IX.      SUGGESTIONS       FOR       CONDUCTING       A 

SPEED   CLASS  ....         97 

X.      TESTS   AND   EXAMINATIONS  .  .108 

XI.      MEASURING  RESULTS   IN   SHORTHAND — 

SPEED   CLASS  .  .  .  .122 

XII.      MEASURING  RESULTS  IN   SHORTHAND — 

ELEMENTARY  .  .  .  .136 

INDEX  145 


Methods  of  Teaching 
Shorthand 


CHAPTER   I 

TEACHER'S  PREPARATION 

f 

OF  the  many  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
the  field  of  education  in  the  last  twenty  years, 
Rise  of  *^e  °ne  which  has  been  the  most  pro- 
Commercial  nounced  and  important  is  the  offering  of 
Education.  studies  which  directly  prepared  the 

student  for  the  livelihood  he  is  under  obligation  to 
make.  Those  in  high  educational  circles  came  to 
the  realization  that  the  aim  of  elementary  and 
secondary  education  was  not  solely  to  prepare  for 
college,  that  the  great  majority  could  never  hope 
to  attend  a  higher  institution  of  learning  and  that 
something  serviceable  must  be  done  for  them. 
As  a  result  the  rise  of  commercial  education,  man- 
ual training  and  domestic  science  has  been  steady 
and  sure.  Education  is  coming  to  be  regarded 
more  and  more  as  a  preparation  for  life,  one  of  the 
most  essential  duties  of  which  is  that  of  earning  a 
living,  and  the  testimony  of  business  men  as  to 
the  utter  unfitness  for  practical  affairs  of  those 
1 


2  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

who  have  completed  their  studies  in  our  elementary 
and  secondary  schools  has  had  its  effect.  It  is 
not  that  the  schools  have  failed  in  doing  their 
work,  but  that  business  procedure  has  become  so 
systematic  that  one  without  training  in  its  customs 
and  usages  is  handicapped.  On  all  sides  there  has 
been  a  growing  demand  for  a  closer  relation  be- 
tween the  school  and  the  life  of  the  community  for 
which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  school  to  prepare  its 
children. 

The  preparation  of  those  who  were  to  teach  the 
academic  subjects  has  become  more  exacting,  and 
the  length  of  time  they  must  undergo  training 
has  steadily  increased.  The  same  tendency  is 
observable  in  regard  to  teachers  of  commercial 
subjects.  At  first  the  qualifications  were  educa- 
tionally low ;  before  the  public  schools  took  up 
the  work  in  business  branches,  instruction  in  book- 
keeping, penmanship,  etc.,  was  given  by  an 
itinerant  teacher  whose  greatest  qualification  was 
Preparation  his  ornamental  penmanship.  Later  the 
cial  °mmer"  business  schools  were  organized  and 
Teachers,  the  main  requirement  for  employment 
was  a  good  knowledge  of  the  subjects  taught. 
When  the  public  school  undertook  to  offer  courses 
in  commercial  branches,  for  some  reason  or  other 
the  examiners  who  were  to  judge  the  candidates 
did  not  require  as  much  preparation  or  training 
from  commercial  teachers  as  they  did  from  teachers 
of  other  branches.  This  was  due  most  likely  to  the 
fact  that  the  number  of  those  who  had  the  technical 


TEACHER'S  PREPARATION  3 

training  as  teachers  and  possessed  a  knowledge  of 
the  subjects  was  much  too  limited  to  supply  the 
demand.  There  was  always  at  hand  the  means  of 
learning  shorthand  for  those  who  had  the  technical 
training  as  teachers  and  the  general  education 
required,  but  up  to  two  years  ago  it  was  practically 
impossible  for  those  whose  knowledge  of  shorthand 
was  adequate,  to  secure  pedagogical  training  in 
their  subject  except  by  taking  employment  in 
private  schools  and  learning  as  a  result  of  mistakes, 
or  in  some  cases  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  years 
of  experience  of  the  conscientious  proprietor  of 
the  school.  This  certainly  worked  a  hardship  on 
private  school  managers,  and  after  it  they  could 
easily  understand  the  feelings  of  the  man  who 
"  broke  in  "  the  inexperienced  stenographer  only 
to  have  her  take  another  position  as  soon  as  it 
offered.  The  colleges  have  seen  the  need  of 
training  for  commercial  teachers  and  they  have 
recently  been  offering  courses  for  them.  Already 
there  has  been  a  great  influx  of  college  graduates 
in  the  ranks  of  teachers  of  shorthand  and  in  a 
short  time  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  invidious 
distinction  in  the  requirements  will  be  wiped  out. 
The  preparation  of  a  teacher  of  shorthand  may 
be  considered  under  four  heads ;  (a)  physical, 
Physical  $)  educational,  (c)  practical,  and  (d) 
Qualifica-  pedagogical.  The  teacher  of  any  sub- 
ject needs  to  have  good  sight,  hearing, 
and  voice,  but  in  shorthand  these  things  are  doubly 
important.  There  are  so  many  fine  distinctions 


4      METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

in  the  shorthand  characters,  differences  in  shading, 
the  placing  of  dots  and  dashes  accurately,  strokes 
that  show  minute  variations  in  length,  that  keen 
sight  is  absolutely  essential.  Obviously  there  is 
so  much  reading  to  be  done  by  the  pupil  that 
unless  the  teacher  can  hear  well  there  is  always 
the  chance  of  an  embarrassing  mishearing.  Like- 
wise, in  teaching  shorthand  there  is  greater  need 
for  a  well  modulated,  even,  pleasant  voice  than 
in  almost  any  other  subject  because  there  is  so 
much  dictation  required  and  nothing  will  produce 
disorder  and  fatigue  so  quickly  as  a  monotonous, 
a  drawling,  or  a  hysterical  falsetto  voice.  Again, 
shorthand  dictation  is  frequently  taken  by  the 
students  under  a  great  nervous  strain,  and  if 
the  voice  of  the  dictator  is  harsh  or  disagreeable, 
it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  student  will  get 
a  case  of  "  nerves  "  and  lose  a  portion  of  it.  There 
is  nothing  unusual  in  the  experience  of  students 
who  claim  they  can  take  dictation  from  one 
person  at  a  certain  rate  and  when  another  person 
dictates  at  the  same  rate  they  cannot  get  it  at  all. 
It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  teacher  have 
a  well-controlled,  pleasing  voice,  and  that  care  be 
taken  with  enunciation  so  that  every  syllable  may 
be  heard  distinctly. 

The  general  education  of  the  shorthand  teacher 
should  be  just  as  good  as  that  of  the  teacher  of 
academic  branches.  While  a  college  education 
is  not  absolutely  essential,  the  one  who  has 
had  such  training  is  likely  to  be  more  comfortable 


TEACHER  S    PREPARATION  5 

and  more  successful  than  the  one  who  is  without 
it.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  possession  of  a 
college  diploma  is  all  that  should  be 

required ;  not  by  any  means-  But  * 

does  mean  that  the  one  so  equipped  w  ill 
be  on  the  same  level  as  his  or  her  colleagues  and 
this  will  do  much  towards  rendering  agreeable  daily 
association  with  those  who  have  had  the  training 
and  who  possess  the  culture  for  which  the  college 
diploma  stands.  Of  course  there  is  no  denying  the 
fact  that  a  man  without  a  college  education  may  be 
better  educated  than  one  who  has  secured  his 
degree,  but  the  chances  are  against  it.  At  any 
rate,  the  teacher  should  be  possessed  of  a  general 
education  that  will  enable  him  to  co-operate  with 
the  other  departments  in  the  school,  and  this 
demands  that  he  shall  have  an  intelligent  grasp 
of  the  other  subjects  that  go  to  make  up  the  course. 
The  teacher  of  shorthand  requires  a  broad 
education  also  because  an  opportunity  is  pre- 
sented in  the  selection  of  his  dictation  material 
to  bring  before  his  class  many  facts  of  value  to 
them  that  they  would  otherwise  never  meet. 
Many  commercial  courses  omit  history  and  in 
such  a  case  it  is  not  unusual  for  a  teacher,  by  a 
judicious  selection  of  historical  speeches  and 
descriptions,  to  bring  many  facts  to  the  attention 
of  the  students  that  they  would  otherwise  never 
encounter  until  their  ignorance  embarrassed  them. 
And  this  can  be  done  without  neglecting  any 
part  of  his  own  work.  Likewise,  simple  and 


6      METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

rudimentary  scientific  data  may  be  used  to  good 
advantage,  but  the  teacher  must  be  educationally 
equipped  to  interpret  the  facts  and  to  answer 
questions  concerning  them  that  are  likely  to  arise. 
Besides  this  having  general  knowledge,  the 
teacher  of  shorthand,  like  the  teacher  of  any  other 

special  branch,  should  know  his  subject 
!?Subje?t  thoroughly.  This  means  that  he  must 

not  only  know  the  principles,  rules  and 
exceptions  that  appear  in  the  text  but  that  he 
must  be  able  to  do  himself  what  he  wishes  his 
students  to  be  able  to  do  :  to  form  instantly  the 
correct  outline  for  any  unfamiliar  word  by  the 
application  of  the  principles  of  the  system.  To 
instruct  intelligently,  it  is  necessary  to  have  an 
intelligent  grasp  of  the  subject ;  what  is  known 
vaguely,  is  taught  vaguely ;  if  shorthand  appears 
to  the  teacher  to  be  a  mass  of  arbitrary  characters, 
his  instruction  cannot  be  anything  but  arbitrary, 
and  any  other  kind  of  instruction  is  better.  It  has 
frequently  been  said  by  those  who  have  a  smatter- 
ing of  the  subject  that  "  brains  are  of  no  use  in 
shorthand  "  because  the  people  making  the  declara- 
tion were  not  successful  in  choosing  the  correct 
outline  the  first  time  and  they  were  unable  to  see 
the  advantage  of  the  standard  form  over  the  other. 
No  modern  shorthand  system  is  as  arbitrary  as  it 
first  seems.  The  genius  of  Isaac  Pitman  put  an 
intelligent  plan  into  geometric  shorthand  that 
becomes  more  apparent  the  more  it  is  studied  and 
practised,  and  as  it  unfolds  before  the  enthusiastic 


TEACHER  S   PREPARATION  7 

delving  of  the  one  who  searches  earnestly,  it 
becomes  a  fascinating  study  that  disregards  all 
labor  or  time  spent  upon  it.  There  cannot  be  any 
doubt  that  a  system  of  shorthand  which  enables 
the  writer  accurately  to  represent  any  enunciated 
sound  in  the  language  is  the  product  of  the  labor 
of  a  scientific  mind.  Many  changes  have  taken 
place,  and  are  now  taking  place,  in  shorthand 
systems ;  they  are  in  a  state  of  constant  flux  ; 
one  expedient  follows  upon  another  and  is  aban- 
doned for  yet  another  ;  but  all  this  takes  place 
in  accordance  with  fundamental  laws  which  are 
worked  out  in  the  experience  of  the  system's 
practitioners.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  shorthand 
teacher  to  study  these  laws  and  to  seek  the  "  whys  " 
and  "  wherefores  "  of  his  subject  in  them.  Then 
and  then  only  can  he  instruct  intelligently  and 
bring  his  students  to  the  proper  attitude  towards 
the  subject ;  then  will  they  feel  for  it,  not  the  con- 
tempt which  is  sometimes  evidenced  by  a  young 
logical  mind  that  finds  no  satisfaction  in  its 
apparent  inconsistencies,  but  the  admiration  and 
appreciation  of  which  the  art  is  worthy. 

As  stated  before,  the  teacher  should  certainly 

be  able  to  do  that  which  he  expects  his  students  to 

do,  and  it  is  necessary  that  he  should 

Esroerience  ^ave  Practical  power  in  the  subject 
at  least  to  a  reasonable  extent.  The 
old  proverb  "  don't  do  as  I  do,  but  do  as  I  say," 
has  fallen  into  innocuous  desuetude  as  a  rule  of 
ethics.  There  is  now  a  tendency  to  make  the 


8  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

sayers  become  doers.  The  more  power  in  the 
subject  the  teacher  has,  the  better,  for  it  generally 
indicates  a  love  for  the  subject,  and  an  enthusiasm 
in  it  that  is  half  the  battle.  If  a  teacher  has  gone 
through  the  mill  of  practice  and  training  until  he 
can  himself  handle  successfully  a  stenographic 
assignment  of  a  little  more  than  average  difficulty, 
there  is  little  likelihood  of  his  assuming  that  un- 
decided, lukewarm,  matter-of-fact  attitude  toward 
the  subject.  He  will  be  more  likely  to  understand 
the  laws  of  the  system  and  have  a  contagious 
enthusiasm  for  it  that  will  energize  every  word 
he  says  about  it.  The  teacher  "  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain  of  practice  sees  infinitely  more  than  the 
teacher  in  the  valley  of  theory." 

Again,  the  shorthand  teacher's  education  is  not 
complete  unless  he  has  had  practical  experience 
in  the  use  of  the  art.  He  must  have  gone  into  the 
office  and  have  shared  the  responsibility  actually 
to  get  the  spirit  of  business  coursing  through  his 
veins,  to  cultivate  that  power  of  organization  that 
is  characteristic  of  the  business  world  so  that  he 
can  bring  it  to  the  class  and  make  it  part  of  his 
instruction.  He  must  learn  at  first  hand  what  is 
customary  in  business  practice,  and  furthermore 
he  must  keep  posted  on  these  things  even  after 
he  has  left  so  that  his  knowledge  is  always  fresh 
and  up  to  date.  The  teacher  who  has  never 
sat  at  the  draw-board  of  the  business  man's  desk 
and  acted  as  stenographer,  who  has  never  filed  or 
found  correspondence,  and  who  has  to  teach  from 


TEACHER'S  PREPARATION  9 

the  impressions  obtained  from  a  miniature  business 
world  set  up  in  the  imagination  is  handicapped  and 
should  take  the  first  opportunity  to  get  the 
experience. 

If  a  teacher  should  possess  good  sight,  hearing 
and  voice,  and  have  a  broad,  general  education, 

a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject 
lS  and  reasonable  power  in  the  practice 

of  shorthand,  he  might  still  not  attain 
his  greatest  efficiency  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  pedagogy  and  the  ability  to  apply  them 
to  his  subject.  Stenography  is  no  easy  subject  to 
teach,  and  all  the  skill  of  the  trained  instructor  is 
required  to  produce  the  best  results.  In  the  ele- 
mentary instruction,  the  presentation  of  the 
principles  offers  as  good  a  field  for  the  application 
of  the  laws  of  teaching  as  does  instruction  in 
mathematics  or  a  foreign  language.  The  teacher 
who  can  apply  the  laws  of  attention,  interest, 
apperception  in  his  work,  who  can  present  the 
theory  in  a  logical  way  renders  his  work  less 
difficult  and  more  lasting,  and  contributes  his  share 
towards  the  general  development  of  the  student's 
mental  capacities.  Pedagogical  training  the  short- 
hand teacher  should  have  for  the  work  that  he  is 
called  upon  to  do.  The  work  is  exacting,  and  little 
is  understood  about  the  nature  of  the  problems 
it  presents.  In  the  speed  room  there  is  an  oppor- 
tunity to  employ  all  the  laws  of  habit  building  to 
their  greatest  extent ;  every  day  some  phase  of 
the  law  of  motor  reaction  is  presented  to  the  teacher 

2— (499) 


10  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

and  unless  the  pedagogical  training  is  there,  his 
efforts  result  in  wasted  energy  and  unfruitfulness. 
Of  course  it  is  possible  for  a  teacher  to  succeed 
in  his  calling  without  any  one  of  these  qualifica- 
tions,  maybe  without   any  two,   but 

Teacher  *^a*  *s  no*  *^e  Pomt-  ^e  minimum 
requirement  for  a  teacher  is  not  under 
discussion.  A  man  may  be  without  a  limb  and 
get  along  through  life  almost  as  well  as  another 
not  so  handicapped,  but  there  is  a  difference. 
The  ideal  teacher  will  possess  all  these  qualifica- 
tions, and  while  it  is  said  that  ideals  are  never 
realized,  the  important  point  is  that  he  realize  his 
limitations  and  set  about  to  remedy  them. 


CHAPTER  II 

AIM   OF  INSTRUCTION 

EVERY  teacher  who  hopes  to  do  his  share  in  the 
work  of  educating  boys  or  girls  has  need  of  a 
Necessity  conscious,  definite  aim  for  the  intelli- 
for  Definite  gent  direction  of  his  efforts.  Without 
such  an  aim  there  exists  no  norm  or 
measure  by  which  to  determine  the  value  of  any 
method  of  instruction  or  the  relative  value  of 
any  series  of  facts,  or  the  utility  of  any  set  of 
skilful  operations.  To  the  lack  of  such  an  aim 
may  be  attributed  many  of  the  evils  of  education 
of  which  critics  justly  complain  ;  over-emphasis 
on  unimportant  details,  teaching  of  facts  unrelated 
to  life,  unsuitable  courses  of  study,  and  many 
others  may  all  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  those 
engaged  in  the  work  of  education  had  not  formu- 
lated definite  principles  along  which  the  work  could 
be  carried  on  ;  or  when  these  principles  have  been 
established  they  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  concen- 
tration with  which  particular  aims  have  been 
pursued.  While  it  is  true  that  the  ultimate  aims 
of  education  are  always  undergoing  change,  and 
that  it  is  impossible  to  devise  such  a  compre- 
hensive scheme  as  to  include  these  various  ends, 
yet  it  should  be  possible  to  select  the  fundamental 
verities  which  appear  in  these  various  aims  and 
have  the  work  proceed  bearing  them  in  mind. 
11 


12     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

The  Committee  on  School  Inquiry  which  lately 
investigated  the  schools  of  New  York,  found  that 
t^ie     1^68*  ev&  m  ^e  field  of  com- 


Influence  of 

Aim  on  mercial  education  was  traceable  to  a 
Instruction.  misconception  of  the  aim  for  which  the 
schools  were  established  and  maintained.  In  their 
curriculum  and  in  their  teaching  they  emphasized 
clerical  preparation  and  lost  sight  altogether  of  the 
ultimate  aim  of  commercial  education,  of  which 
preparation  for  clerical  positions  formed  approxi- 
mately only  fifteen  per  cent.  If  such  a  thing  is 
possible  with  a  system  of  education,  it  is  much 
more  likely  to  happen  with  an  individual  teacher, 
especially  when  his  efficiency  is  judged  exclusively 
upon  the  attainment  of  success  in  the  particular, 
narrow,  specialized  aim  of  his  work,  as  is  so  fre- 
quently done.  When  a  teacher  is  rated  on  the 
number  of  students  he  promotes,  or  on  the  number 
of  pupils  who  are  successful  in  a  certain  examina- 
tion, he  is  very  likely,  indeed,  to  lose  sight  of  the 
ultimate  aim  of  education  for  his  pupils,  and  to 
turn  all  his  attention  to  the  things  which  are  taken 
as  an  indication  of  the  success  of  his  instruction. 
However,  the  ultimate  and  proximate  aims  which 
the  teacher  of  shorthand  should  possess  are  not 
mutually  exclusive,  neither  are  they  incompatible 
with  efficient  work.  All  that  is  necessary,  is  to 
formulate  definitely  what  ends  the  instruction 
should  accomplish  and  organize  the  classroom 
work  so  that  each  operation  will  have  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  general  plan.  Thus  the  way  in 


AIM  OF  INSTRUCTION  13 

which  the  teacher  provides  for  the  care  of  the 
mechanical  details  incident  to  the  conduct  of  a 
class  can  be  made  to  show  the  operation  of  certain 
definite  principles  in  the  ultimate  scheme  of  edu- 
cation, the  plan  used  for  the  adjustment  of  matters 
of  a  disciplinary  nature,  the  methods  used  in  the 
presentation  of  the  subject,  and,  in  fact,  every 
phase  of  the  work  can  be  related  in  the  same  way 
and  with  greater  economy  than  if  the  teacher 
persists  in  the  one  idea  of  having  his  class  succeed 
in  raising  their  speed  from  seventy-five  words  per 
minute  to  one  hundred.  This  does  not  mean  that 
instruction  in  shorthand  should  become  of  second- 
ary importance  for  the  shorthand  teacher.  Not  by 
any  means.  To  accomplish  what  is  expected  of 
him  will  take  great  effort  and  conscientiousness, 
nevertheless  these  things  which  enter  into  the 
general  equipment  of  the  student  for  life  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of  completely,  especially  as  they 
can  be  woven  so  effectively  into  the  processes  of 
instruction. 

When  a  teacher  of  shorthand  steps  into  a  class 
it  is  as  necessary  for  him  to  have  a  well-defined 
concept  of  the  ultimate  end  of  education  as  it  is 
to  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject. 
Entering  into  this  concept  will  be  considerations 
that  make  up  the  universal  conditions  of  life,  things 
common  to  all  men  such  as  health,  character,  and 
the  higher  utilities  of  life  ;  data  will  also  be  drawn 
from  the  special  conditions  in  which  the  student 
must  in  future  labor,  such  as  special  knowledge 


14  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

or  skill  of  particular  use  in  his  earning  a  liveli- 
hood ;  and  last,  the  data  designated  for  instruc- 
tion by  the  course  of  study  or  by  his  superiors. 
The  arrangement  is  in  accordance  with  extension  ; 
not  according  to  relative  importance.  For  the 
teacher,  it  should  be  the  reverse : 
Threefold  ^  ^e  acquirement  of  knowledge  and 
skill  in  shorthand ;  (b)  the  acquire- 
ment of  knowledge  and  the  formation  of  habits 
that  will  be  of  especial  use  in  the  field  of  commerce  ; 
(c)  the  knowledge,  habits,  and  ideals  that  enable 
the  student  to  become  an  efficient  member  of 
society.  This  should  be  the  teacher's  threefold 
aim. 

The  first  division  of  this  aim  is  altogether  in  the 
hands  of  the  teacher  and  his  immediate  superiors. 
The  second  division,  that  relating  to  the  acquire- 
ment of  knowledge  and  habits  that  will  be  of 
especial  use  in  his  future  occupation  may  be 
effected  by  the  correlation  of  the  different  subjects 
and  the  co-operation  of  the  different  departments 
of  instruction,  as  well  as  in  the  formation  of 
special  habits  of  industry,  co-operation,  analysis, 
etc.  The  third  division,  that  having  to  do  with 
the  general  things  of  life,  will  be  influenced  by  the 
general  knowledge  of  the  teacher,  his  culture,  his 
judgment  of  values,  and  his  ideals,  all  of  which, 
if  his  heart  is  in  his  work,  he  cannot  help  but 
expose  to  the  observant  minds  of  his  pupils.  The 
teacher  of  shorthand,  therefore,  will  see  that 
he  has  a  threefold  responsibility  in  his  instruction  : 


AIM  OF  INSTRUCTION  15 

to  prepare  for  an  occupation,  a  vocation,  and  for 
social  and  civic  responsibility.  The  one  who 
Occu  a  confines  himself  to  the  occupational  aim 
tional,  will  not  see  the  necessity  of  corre- 

Sd^iSSil  latinS  the  work  in  shorthand  and 
Aim  typewriting  with  bookkeeping,  law, 

Explained.  English,  arithmetic,  etc.,  and  it  would 
not  be  unreasonable  to  assume  that  he  expects  all 
of  his  students  to  become  stenographers  and  to 
remain  such  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  The  teacher 
who  has  only  the  vocational  aim  is  the  one  who  is 
the  victim  of  the  narrow  conception  of  education 
known  as  "  the  bread  and  butter  aim."  He 
realizes  his  responsibility  for  the  preparation  of 
the  student  to  attain  commercial  success,  but  he 
fails  to  recognize  the  responsibility  which  he 
shares  to  prepare  the  student  for  the  efficient 
enjoyment  of  that  success. 

The  ideal  teacher  is  the  one  who  appreciates  his 
full  responsibility  in  each  of  these  instances. 

One  of  the  serious  objections  made  against  one 
of  the  commercial  schools  of  New  York  City  by 
the  Committee  of  Inquiry  was  that  its  course 
attempted  to  fulfill  a  double  purpose.  The  first 
was  to  prepare  for  business  and  give  general 
culture  and  training  for  citizenship  ;  the  second 
was  to  prepare  for  entrance  to  higher  institutions. 
In  this  connection  the  report  states  :  Page  23 — l 
"  The  aims  of  the  four-year  course  are  .... 

1  Report  on  Commercial  Education,  by  Frank  V. 
Thompson,  p.  23, 


16  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

apparently  twofold,  namely,  a  preparation  for 
business  and  for  life,  and  for  higher  institutions. 
..  N  .  The  advantages  of  specialization  are 
Mutually  lessened  in  this  double  objective.  The 
Exclusive.  whole  theory  of  special  schools  is  to 
devote  the  major  effort  to  some  one  aim.  The 
attempt  to  include  preparation  for  higher  institu- 
tions is  unfortunate.  It  was  explained  to  the 
investigator  that  fitting  for  life  was  not  an  optional 
and  distinct  aim,  but  a  concomitant  of  the  purpose 
of  this  school  which,  while  fitting  boys  for  business, 
gave  general  culture  and  equipment  for  citizen- 
ship. This  is  entirely  praiseworthy,  but  it  ought 
not  to  be  necessary  to  assume  that  a  proper 
vocational  education  does  not  contain  within  its 
own  meaning  these  general  assumptions.  Fitting 
for  life  has  long  been  stated  to  be  the  aim  of  general 
education  ;  but  the  definition  of  the  meaning  of 
the  expression  has  too  often  not  been  clear  or 
satisfactory."  This  analysis  of  the  aim  of  the 
course  of  study  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  aim 
of  the  teachers  since  it  is  through  the  teachers 
only  that  the  aim  of  the  school  can  be  realized. 
From  the  quotation  it  can  be  seen  that  specializa- 
tion does  not  justify  the  neglect  of  the  ultimate 
aim  of  education,  but  as  it  has  been  previously 
pointed  out,  this  aim  must  be  worked  in  har- 
moniously with  the  particular  aims  of  the  teacher 
so  that  it  is  not  a  thing  apart,  having  nothing  in 
common,  as  is  the  case  in  the  effort  to  prepare 
for  business  and  life,  and  for  the  higher  institutions 


AIM   OF   INSTRUCTION  17 

as  well,  so  long  as  the  demands  of  the  higher  insti- 
tutions differ  from  those  of  business.  There  is  no 
multiple  objective  in  a  threefold  aim  which  con- 
sists of  fitting  the  student  for  an  occupation,  for 
a  vocation,  and  for  the  other  things  of  life.  The  aim 
of  the  teacher  should  embody  everything  that 
appears  in  the  aim  of  the  school,  not  necessarily 
in  the  same  proportion,  but  in  some  proportion. 
The  school  aim  is  not  the  aggregate  of  the  aims  of 
the  particular  teachers,  but  the  aim  of  the  teacher 
should  reflect  the  aim  of  the  school.  To  have 
one  department  limit  itself  exclusively  to  the 
occupational,  another  to  the  vocational,  and 
another  to  the  ideal  things  of  life  would  be  as 
sensible  as  a  scheme  of  instruction  in  which  the 
students  were  expected  to  speak  or  write  correctly 
only  hi  the  English  class,  to  operate  the  typewriter 
by  touch  only  when  in  the  typewriting  class,  to 
figure  correctly  only  in  the  mathematics  class,  and 
so  on. 

In  the  private  business  schools  the  teacher  is 
not  concerned  with  this  matter  of  aim.  In  these 
Aim  in  schools  there  is  a  simplification  of  aim, 
Private  the  purpose  of  instruction  being  in  most 
cases  frankly  occupational.  The  stu- 
dent registers  with  the  single  intention  of  being 
prepared  to  hold  a  position  as  stenographer  or 
bookkeeper  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and  the 
school  fulfils  its  responsibility  when  it  turns  out 
an  occupationally  efficient  product.  The  course 
of  study  and  the  time  required  to  complete  it 


18     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

indicate  that  these  schools  make  no  pretension  to  a 
higher  aim.  And  there  is  no  reason  at  present 
why  they  should ;  their  existence  is  due  to  a 
special  demand,  that  of  preparation  for  an  occu- 
pation, and  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  they 
have  acquitted  themselves  well  of  their  obligation. 
However,  they  have  always  stood  in  the  van  of 
progress  in  commercial  education,  and  it  would 
not  be  surprising  to  see  a  great  re-organization 
of  them  take  place  in  which  the  course  of  study 
would  be  modified  to  include  merchandising, 
advertising,  business  organization,  salesmanship, 
etc.,  even  before  they  are  taken  up  by  the  public 
high  and  secondary  schools.  Then  the  teacher  in 
the  business  schools  will  have  to  equip  himself  so 
that  he  can  modify  the  aim  of  his  instruction  to 
reflect  the  aim  of  the  school. 

The  threefold  aim  described  at  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  may  be  considered  by  the  teacher 
of  shorthand  under  the  heads  of  (a)  general, 
including  the  vocational  and  ideal  aims,  and  (b) 
special,  the  occupational  aim.  Under  the  general 
aim  the  teacher  would  have  to  see  that  his  pupils 
formed  proper  ideals,  cultivated  good  manners, 
developed  favorable  habits  of  speech  and  action, 
etc.,  in  so  far  as  he  was  able  and  the  opportunities 
presented  themselves  He  would  also  see  that 
his  work  is  correlated  with  other  subjects  in  the 
course  with  the  object  of  making  the  pupil  a  man 
well-equipped  in  all  departments  of  business. 
Having  this  general  aim  it  might  be  wise  to  see  how 


AIM  OF  INSTRUCTION  19 

it  could  be  worked  out  in  the  various  classroom 
operations  In  the  wide  variety  of  dictation 
How  Aims  material  available  to  the  teacher  of  a 
are  Worked  speed  class,  something  along  this  line 
>ut'  might  be  done  The  subject  can  also 

be  used  to, bring  about  good  mental  development 
in  that  there  is  constant  exercises  in  close  observa- 
tion, analogy,  reasoning  and  judgment,  and  the 
teacher  can,  perhaps,  present  his  lessons  logically 
enough  to  lead  to  their  employment  By  corre- 
lating the  work  in  shorthand  with  that  of  other 
subjects  either  through  dictation  material  or 
through  actual,  practical  work,  such  as  will  later 
be  explained,  a  broad  knowledge  of  business  forms 
and  practices  can  be  given  In  the  constantly 
changing  relations  between  pupil  and  pupil,  and 
pupil  and  teacher,  and  in  the  carrying  out  of 
classroom  tasks  by  the  pupils,  many  opportunities 
for  the  cultivation  of  habits  of  initiative,  honor, 
self-reliance,  co-operation,  etc.,  are  offered. 
(  As  a  special  aim  the  teacher's  efforts  should  be 
directed  towards  having  his  pupils  acquire  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  theory  of 
shorthand  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  write  a  well-executed,  readable  out- 
line for  any  unfamiliar  word  in  the  language 
employing  the  principles  of  the  system  and  not 
relying  upon  guesswork.  There  should  be  deve- 
loped an  automatic  control  of  the  grammalogs 
and  contractions,  the  importance  of  which  can  be 
seen  when  it  is  known  that  these  words  make  up 


20  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

from  fifty  to  seventy  per  cent,  of  all  commercial 
dictation,  and  from  forty  to  sixty  per  cent,  of 
literary  matter.  The  ability  to  phrase  judiciously, 
to  read  with  facility  what  has  been  written,  to 
sustain  a  given  rate  of  speed  for  a  reasonable 
length  of  time,  not  merely  for  five  minutes,  which 
is  the  usual  test,  and  to  turn  in  a  well-spelled, 
correctly  punctuated,  neatly  arranged  transcript ; 
these  are  the  things  that  will  constitute  the  special 
aim  of  the  shorthand  teacher. 

J 


CHAPTER   III 

MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  IN   A  SHORTHAND   CLASS 

IN  every  lesson  in  shorthand  there  are  bound  to 
appear  certain  matters  necessary  to  the  operation 
of  the  class  which,  unless  they  are  provided  for 
by  the  teacher  when  he  plans  his  work,  will  waste 
much  of  his  time  and  seriously  impair  the  efficiency 
of  his  instruction.  These  are  routine  matters 
such  as  the  collection  and  distribution  of  paper, 
condition  of  the  boards,  collection  and  checking 
of  exercises,  marking  attendance,  writing  the 
homework  on  the  board,  arrangement  of  work, 
and  many  other  little  details  which,  unless  they 
are  handled  in  some  organized  way,  consume 
valuable  time  and  require  daily  attention.  Most 
of  these  matters  present  themselves  the  very  first 
day  that  the  teacher  meets  his  class,  and  it  would 
be  well  for  him  to  have  ready  his  plan  for  taking 
care  of  them  from  the  start. 

One  thing  is  certain.  Nothing  can  justify  the 
teacher  in  wasting  precious  time  over  such  matters. 
Funda-  ^n  opportunity  is  presented  here  that 
mental  it  would  be  unpardonable  for  any 
Principles.  teacher  of  shorthand  to  neglect.  Bear- 
ing in  mind  the  ultimate  aim  of  education,  social 
efficiency,  vocational  efficiency,  and  the  particular 
aim  of  his  own  instruction,  he  will  readily  see  that 
these  matters  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 

21 


22     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

the  students  through  an  organized  routine  that  is 
operative  on  the  principles  of  social  service  and 
vocational  efficiency.  It  would  be  a  grave  mistake 
to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  students  in  doing  these 
things  on  any  but  the  proper  principles.  The 
teacher  who  makes  a  personal  matter  of  these 
things  and  has  them  attended  to  by  students  as 
a  matter  of  personal  accommodation  probably 
wastes  less  time  than  the  one  who  does  them  him- 
self, but  more  injury  is  done  to  the  characters  of 
the  students  in  that  it  may  eventually  develop 
a  vicious  "  toadyism."  From  the  aspect  of 
vocational  efficiency  for  a  teacher  to  disregard 
the  opportunity  presented  by  these  routine  matters 
would  be  making  open  display  of  his  lack  of 
executive  ability  and  much  inspiration  to  the 
class  is  lost. 

The  proper  course  to  pursue  is  to  face  the 
situation  with  frankness.  The  classroom  is  a 
miniature  social  and  business  com- 
Servtce  munity  of  which  every  pupil  is  a  mem- 
ber ;  a  self-regulating  community 
operated  on  the  principles  of  democracy  with  the 
teacher  as  the  leader  and  counsellor.  The  students 
should  be  taken  fully  into  confidence  of  the  instruc- 
tor, and  they  should  share  responsibility  with  him 
for  the  solution  of  the  problems  that  arise  in 
class.  It  can -easily  be  shown  to  the  class  that 
each  of  the  routine  matters  is  a  "  community 
affair,"  and  that  it  is  the  concern  of  all ;  therefore 
the  one  who  attends  to  it  efficiently  serves,  not  so 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  23 

much  the  teacher,  but  his  class-mates  and  himself, 
for  he  receives  service  of  a  similar  kind  from 
another.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  how  the  ideal 
of  social  service  may  be  utilized.  As  a  business 
community  the  students  can  be  brought  to  realize 
the  importance  of  reliability  in  the  performance 
of  any  task  carrying  responsibility,  and  once 
entrusted  with  it,  they  are  judged  competent  or 
incompetent  by  the  class  according  as  their  work 
is  satisfactory  or  unsatisfactory. 

So  much  for  the  fundamental  principles  involved. 
Now  to  get  at  the  details  of  the  organization.  The 
distribution  of  paper  always  offers  a 
Problem  in  a  shorthand  class  where 
the  students  are  not  supposed  to  furnish 
it  from  their  personal  supply.  The  use  of  note- 
books does  not  eliminate  the  problem.  Most 
teachers  conduct  a  drill  at  the  beginning  of  the 
lesson,  and  if  the  papers  are  to  be  inspected  they 
must  be  collected,  whereas  note-books  would  have 
to  be  returned  immediately  to  continue  work  with 
the  class.  There  are  two  plans  for  distributing 
paper,  neither  one  of  which  should  require  the 
teacher's  attention  for  an  instant.  The  first  is 
to  give  a  weekly  supply  to  a  boy  or  girl  who  can 
reach  the  classroom  before  the  others  are  all 
assembled,  and  who  will  look  after  the  distribu- 
tion. It  may  be  that  the  one  in  charge  of  the 
paper  could  not  get  it  all  distributed  by  the  time 
work  should  have  started ;  then  it  is  his  or  her 
duty  to  get  help  and  an  assistant  is  obtained  by 


24  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

her  either  through  volunteering  or  through  an 
assignment.  A  substitute  is  also  appointed  in 
case  the  regular  attendant  is  absent.  If  there 
is  no  way  in  which  the  substitute  can  learn  of  the 
absence  until  it  is  too  late  to  perform  the  duties 
of  the  position,  there  is  a  chance  for  some  member 
of  the  class  to  show  some  initiative  and  fill  the 
place  without  being  directed.  The  other  plan  is 
to  have  the  paper  placed  on  the  front  desks  and 
passed  back  on  signal.  The  disadvantage  of  this 
plan  is  that  it  requires  some  attention,  and  the 
papers  are  given  out  after  the  entire  class  is 
assembled.  In  collecting  papers  the  easiest  method 
is  to  have  them  passed  along  to  the  front  or  rear 
of  the  room,  or  by  those  sitting  at  the  front  or 
rear  of  each  row  of  seats.  Unless  actuated  by 
some  other  purpose  the  teacher  should  never  walk 
around  the  class  collecting  papers. 

The  cleaning  of  the  blackboards  should  also  be 
taken  care  of  by  the  students.  There  are  many 
Black-  teachers  who  would  hesitate  a  long 
boards.  time  before  they  would  suggest  such 
a  thing  to  a  class  because  they  fear  the  embarrass- 
ment of  a  refusal.  Where  such  a  condition  exists, 
its  proper  adjustment  is  the  most  essential  business 
of  that  teacher  and  further  instruction  in  the  sub- 
ject is  of  secondary  importance,  for  character- 
building  takes  precedence  over  the  mastery  of 
facts  always.  The  proper  thing  to  do  is  to  look 
at  the  situation  fairly  with  the  class,  examining 
it  from  all  sides.  Of  course,  an  arbitrary  command, 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  25 

an  appeal  to  higher  authority,  and  a  hasty  threat 
of  suspension  might  accomplish  the  desired  result ; 
but  the  educational  opportunity  would  be  thrown 
away  and  the  matter  would  not  be  settled.  The 
teacher  with  inspirational  power,  acting  on  sound 
general  principles  should  be  able  to  direct  the 
sentiment  of  the  class  in  the  proper  channel. 
There  is  an  undoubted  advantage  in  having  the 
boards  cleaned  and  ready  for  work  as  soon  as  the 
class  begins.  If  the  teacher  has  to  erase  the  boards, 
and  perhaps  rule  them,  it  will  take  two  or  three 
minutes  during  which  the  class  may  be  idle  ;  and 
for  thirty  scholars  that  would  mean  an  aggregate 
of  sixty  or  ninety  minutes  wasted.  Provided  the 
instruction  is  worth  having,  the  class  loses  some- 
thing by  having  the  teacher  so  employed.  If  a 
student  does  it,  the  class  does  not  suffer,  for  the 
teacher  can  be  using  the  time  to  good  advantage 
for  the  general  benefit.  Of  course,  it  is  not  intended 
that  every  time  during  the  lesson  the  board  needs 
erasing  that  the  teacher  will  stop  until  a  student 
steps  up  and  erases.  Under  such  conditions  the 
teacher  could  probably  do  the  erasing  more  effec- 
tively without  breaking  the  train  of  thought. 
But  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  everything 
should  be  in  readiness  for  work.  Whose  duty  is 
it  to  clean  the  boards  ?  It  must  be  the  duty  of 
the  teacher  or  of  the  student.  Look  at  the  matter 
from  the  student's  point  of  view.  Why  should  he 
refuse  ?  Where  a  valid  reason  exists,  he  should 
certainly  be  excused  ;  but  where  he  acts  in  this 

3— (499) 


26     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

way  to  be  disagreeable,  he  should  feel  the  censure 
and  condemnation  of  the  class.  If  he  feels  that 
the  service  is  menial,  he  must  be  led  to  see  that  the 
service  is  social ;  if  the  teacher  is  to  do  the  work 
it  can  hardly  be  menial.  The  teacher  who  finds 
such  a  situation  confronting  him  and  succeeds  in 
adjusting  it,  does  more  educational  work  than  ten 
others  who  let  the  matter  slide  or  side-step  it, 
even  though  it  takes  considerable  time. 

If  a  student  has  been  absent  and  the  teacher 
requires  the  work  to  be  made  up  ;  or  if  a  student 
fails  to  bring  in  the  work  for  any  other  reason, 
the  teacher  is  often  compelled  to  follow  up  the 
dilatory  one.  This  compels  his  attention  to 
a  thing,  the  return  from  which  does  not  justify  the 
personal  attention  given  to  it  by  the  teacher,  if 
the  matter  can  be  taken  care  of  in  another  way. 
The  solution  of  such  difficulties  rests  in  having 
one  of  the  reliable  students  of  the  class  act  as  class 
secretary,  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  a  record  in  a 
book  specially  provided  for  the  purpose  of  the 
daily  assignment  of  work,  and  who  keeps  track  of 
student  records,  such  as  the  class  average  in 

various  tests  and  the  individual  marks 
Records  °^  students.  When  this  record  of  the 

assignment  is  made  it  is  possible  then 
for  a  student  who  was  absent  to  find  out  the  work 
that  should  have  been  done  for  that  day  and  to 
make  it  up  without  asking  the  teacher  in  class, 
or  making  a  special  call  upon  him  after  hours. 
It  also  furnishes  a  record  of  accomplishment  for 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  27 

the  class,  and  if  at  any  time  the  teacher  is  absent 
and  the  class  is  taken  by  a  substitute,  the  secre- 
tary's record  shows  what  has  been  done  and  just 
where  the  work  should  be  continued.  The 
recording  of  the  class  average  in  the  care  of  the 
secretary  can  be  used  to  stimulate  the  class  to 
improve  the  average  every  time  a  test  is  given  ; 
it  arouses  emulation  and  gives  each  student  an 
interest  in  the  class  as  a  whole,  a  working  unit 
where  the  failure  of  one  is  the  concern  of  all,  and 
where  those  who  fail,  receive  encouragement  and 
assistance  instead  of  jeers  and  pity. 

Another  officer  of  the  class  whose  work  helps  to 
relieve  the  teacher  is  the  one  in  charge  of  the  written 
work  to  be  done  at  home  and  handed  in.  This 
officer  checks  up  the  exercises  when  they  are 
handed  in  to  see  that  every  student  present  has 
done  the  work,  and  also  to  note  if  it  has  been  done 
in  full  so  that  when  given  to  the  teacher  for 
inspection  he  has  to  judge  only  the  quality. 
Those  who  fail  to  bring  the  exercise,  or  whose 
work  is  unsatisfactory  for  any  reason,  are  required 
to  make  up  the  work,  bring  it  to  the  teacher  for 
examination,  and  then  hand  it  to  the 
exercise  clerk,  who  makes  a  record 
crediting  the  work  to  the  student. 
Unless  an  exercise  is  handed  in  at  the  proper  time, 
the  exercise  clerk  does  not  accept  it  without  the 
signature  of  the  teacher,  which  signifies  that  it  is 
correct  and  satisfactory  in  every  way.  A  weekly 
report  from  the  exercise  clerk  brings  to  light  those 


28  METHODS  OF   TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

who  are  making  no  effort  to  cover  the  lost  ground, 
and  the  teacher  is  then  able  to  spur  them  on. 

In  marking  the  attendance  several  plans  are 
used  in  place  of  the  old,  time-wasting  method  of 
calling  the  roll  aloud.  In  many  school  systems 
now  the  teacher  is  relieved  from  the  investigation 
of  a  pupil's  absence  to  determine  whether  it  is 
excusable  and  the  work  is  put  in  the  hands  of  some 
one  else  who  issues  a  certificate  stating  whether 
the  excuse  is  valid  or  invalid.  In  marking  attend- 
ance then  the  teacher  is  concerned  with  these  two 
facts  :  a  record  of  those  who  are  present,  and  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  those  who  were  pre- 
viously absent.  The  attendance  clerk  handles  the 

matter  in  this  way.  As  soon  as  he 
Attendance.  ,  ,  , 

arrives  he  takes  possession  of  the  roll- 
book,  and  at  a  convenient  moment  he  makes  his 
entries  and  then  collects  the  absence  excuses  for 
countersignature  by  the  teacher.  The  convenient 
moment,  however,  does  not  mean  when  the  teacher 
is  in  the  midst  of  an  important  explanation  or 
when  it  will  interfere  with  the  work  of  the 
class. 

The  attendance  can  also  be  recorded  from  the 
exercises,  provided  each  pupil  present  is  compelled 

to  hand  in  the  exercise  or  a  written 
Attendance  . 

Marked         reason  for  failure  to  do  so.     It  would, 

from  of  course,  be  possible  for  one  student 

Exercises.  r  .    . 

present  to  hand  in  the  exercise  of  a 

student  who  is  absent  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
attendance  credit  for  the  absentee,  but  it  is  not 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  29 

likely,  as  other  provision  is  made  for  such  exercises 
and  it  would  direct  suspicion  at  such  a  student. 

Another  common  way  of  marking  attendance  is 
by  the  use  of  a  seating  plan  of  the  class.    The 

students  are  all  assigned  seats  which 
Plan.  Stmg  ^ey  are  to  occuPy  at  every  session. 

By  consulting  the  plan  it  can  readily 
be  determined  who  are  the  absentees,  for  their 
names  would  appear  in  the  space  used  in  the  plan 
to  designate  the  seat. 

It  is  the  practice  of  many  teachers  to  have  the 
home-work  assigned,  corrected  from  the  exercise 

as  it  is  placed  on  the  blackboard.     If 

Correction     the  teacher  has  to  do  this  work  it  will 

of  Home- 

work.  take  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  of  his  time 

that  could  be  more  usefully  employed 
in  helping  individuals  who  need  his  aid ;  those 
whose  work  show  that  they  have  not  fully  grasped 
the  principle  in  question.  By  training  a  student 
to  do  this  work  the  teacher  can  be  free  to  give  his 
valuable  assistance.  By  selecting  a  student  who 
will  suffer  the  least  through  the  loss  of  the  work 
done  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  economy  of 
time  and  effort  is  effected.  The  student  also 
derives  advantage  from  the  work,  for  in  a  short 
time  improvement  in  execution  and  in  knowledge  of 
principles  is  invariably  the  result.  For  this  reason 
it  might  be  just  as  well  to  arrange  that  several 
members  of  the  class  be  given  the  same  opportunity. 
Since  the  installation  of  automatic  ventilation 
systems,  the  question  of  keeping  the  room  supplied 


30  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

with  fresh  air  and  at  the  proper  temperature  has 
been  considerably  lessened ;  but  where  these 
systems  have  not  been  installed  or  where  their 
successful  operation  is  spasmodic,  as  has  been  the 
case  in  some  instances,  it  falls  to  the  teacher  to 
assume  the  responsibility.  The  matter  of  light, 
heat  and  ventilation  is  another  routine  matter 
that  should  be  taken  care  of  by  the 
students.  Some  teachers  have  a  pupil 
in  each  class  whose  duty  it  is  to  raise  the  windows 
at  the  end  of  the  period  and  close  them  at  the 
beginning.  In  this  way  the  room  is  flushed  after 
occupation  by  each  class,  and  the  one  in  charge 
enters  the  room  to  find  the  windows  up.  He 
immediately  sets  about  to  arrange  them  according 
to  the  directions  that  have  been  given,  the  shades 
are  attended  to  and  the  ventilation  is  no  more 
thought  of  until  a  complaint  is  received,  when  the 
matter  is  properly  adjusted  by  the  one  in  charge. 
Another  way  in  which  economy  of  time  and 
effort  can  be  effected  is  through  the  standardiza- 
tion of  procedure  as  to  the  places  to  be  used  when 
pupils  go  to  the  board,  the  arrangement  of  work 
on  the  boards,  in  the  exercises  or  on  paper.  Some 
one  way  should  be  adopted  and  always  adhered  to, 
so  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  in  directing 
how  the  work  should  be  arranged.  In  some  cases 
teachers  have  used  more  time  in  explaining  the 
plan  of  arrangement  than  in  the  dictation  exercise 
itself.  This  idea  of  standard  arrangement  is  well 
applied  in  other  branches  where  written  work  is 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  31 

required,  such  as  in  compositions  or  mathematical 
solutions.  Thus,  for  instance,  whenever  words 
are  dictated  it  might  be  that  the  teacher  would 

find  it  convenient  to  have  them  always 
Arrange-  appear  in  a  certain  number  of  columns 
Work.  consisting  of  a  definite  number  of  words, 

with  the  name,  date,  and  designation 
of  the  class  always  appearing  in  the  same  relative 
place.  The  plan  is  certainly  better  than  to  find 
the  name  of  the  student  on  the  right  in  one  case, 
on  the  left  in  another,  and  some  other  place  for  the 
next ;  or  to  have  the  words  written  in  columns 
by  one,  in  lines  by  another,  and  so  on.  Whatever 
plan  for  work  is  adopted  for  the  boards  or  for 
paper,  it  should  be  standardized.  When  sentences 
are  to  be  written  some  teachers  find  it  an  advantage 
to  have  a  line  skipped  after  each  line  of  writing 
so  that  errors  may  be  indicated  upon  it  or  so  that 
corrections  may  be  practised. 

Another  method  that  can  be  standardized  is  the 
way  in  wrhich  tests  are  taken  by  the  class.  Tests 
in  elementary  shorthand,  for  instance,  should 
include  certain  fundamentals  such  as  grammalogs, 
phrases,  statements  of  rules,  application  of  princi- 
ples, or  both.  Special  test  paper  with  suitable 
ruling  into  sections  could  be  utilized  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  it  would  not  take  more  than  a  minute 
to  get  ready  for  the  test,  whereas,  if  the  ordinary 

paper  is  used,  it  has  to  be  ruled  and 

numbered  in  accordance  with  direc- 
tions, using  up  from  ten  to  fifteen  valuable 


32  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

minutes.  When  the  form  has  been  decided  upon, 
the  mimeograph  will  enable  the  teacher  in  a  few 
minutes  to  print  all  he  needs  for  the  term.  Again, 
if  the  grammalogs  are  tested  upon  with  a  time 
element  involved,  as  many  teachers  believe  they 
should  be,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  be  automatic  from  the  beginning, 
the  same  conditions  should  always  hold  ;  the  time 
element  may  be  changed  to  accommodate  the  fuller 
mastery  of  the  grammalogs,  but  it  should  always 
be  a  part  of  the  test.  In  the  same  way  the  other 
elements  of  the  test  should  be  standardized. 

In  the  advanced  shorthand  classes  it  is  fre- 
quently possible  for  the  teacher,  by  the  use  of  the 
metronome,  to  have  the  assistance  of  substitute 
dictators.  It  is  a  big  advantage  to  a  teacher  if 
he  can  be  free  to  go  about  the  room  observing  the 
work  of  the  pupils,  sitting  down  beside  the  more 
backward  and  studying  their  individual  obstacles 
to  the  acquirement  of  speed.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
the  most  efficient  work  is  done.  When  the  teacher 
has  to  dictate  and  try  to  observe  the  writing  of 
the  pupils,  neither  the  dictation  nor  the  writing 
operation  can  receive  his  attention  to  a  satis- 
factory degree,  and  the  study  of  the  notes  after 
they  are  taken,  while  it  has  value,  does  not 
compare  with  seeing  them  taken.  Therefore,  the 
teacher  must  have  one  of  his  students  who  can  set 
the  metronome  beating  at  the  required  speed  and 
every  student  in  the  class  should  be  taught  to 
read  with  it  so  that  the  distribution  of  the  work 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  33 

will    be    fair.      The    knack    of    reading    with   a 

metronome  is  difficult  at  first,  but  after  a  little 

practice  the  difficulty  disappears  and 

Dictator?  the  students  are  able  to  supplant  the 
staccato,  jerky  style  of  the  beginner  with 
a  free,  fluent  style,  giving  sufficient  attention  to  the 
phrasing  and  other  details.  While  the  metronome  is 
useful  as  an  artificial  device  for  regulating  speed  in 
reading,  there  are  certain  objections  to  it,  and  a 
teacher  should  not  use  it  to  regulate  his  speed  while 
dictating.  It  is  only  because  the  advantages  of 
its  use  greatly  counterbalance  the  disagreeable 
factors  that  it  is  recommended  and  used.  It  is 
not  an  easy  matter  to  read  at  a  measured  rate, 
and  to  teach  several  students  to  do  this  without 
such  an  artificial  aid  would  require  considerable 
effort. 

At  first  glance  the  number  of  these  routine 
matters  may  lead  a  person  to  think  that  emphasis 
is  misplaced ;  that  the  organization  of  them  must 
be  such  that  in  order  that  the  teacher  may  attend 
to  it,  neglect  of  his  teaching  work  must  inevitably 
result.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it 
takes  longer  to  describe  the  operation  of  a  system 
than  it  does  for  the  system  to  operate  ;  that  these 
are  all  important  classroom  matters  that  must 

be  attended  to,  that  cannot  ordinarily 
D sneer 
from  be  eliminated,  and  that  some  one  must 

Too  Much    i00k  after  them,  either  the  teacher  or 
System. 

the   student  ;    and   that    it    is    better 

for  one  student    to    sacrifice    a    minute  or   two 


34     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

performing  a  simple  task  than  that  the  whole 
class  sacrifice  the  minute  or  two  while  the  teacher 
performs  it.1  Bagley  says :  "  Sometimes,  it  is 
true,  system  and  organization  defeat  their  own 
purpose  ;  they  become  ends  in  themselves,  and 
thus  tend  to  obscure  the  true  ends  for  which  they 
were  established.  When  the  true  perspective  of 
means  to  ends  is  lost  to  view,  the  means  naturally 
become  magnified  in  importance,  and  the  result  is 
'  red  tape  '  with  all  of  its  attendant  evils."  Just 
as  soon  as  the  system  of  taking  care  of  these 
routine  matters  interferes  with  the  instruction  ; 
just  as  soon  as  the  teacher  finds  his  work  stopped 
and  he  has  to  push  the  system  off  the  track,  he 
knows  that  his  system  is  not  effective,  and  that  it 
is  reducing  the  efficiency  of  his  work  instead  of 
increasing  it.  When  it  is  necessary  for  a  teacher, 
day  after  day,  to  call  attention  to  the  system,  to 
remind  the  students  of  it  time  after  time,  there  is 
something  radically  wrong  with  it.  So  far  as  the 
teacher  is  concerned,  the  system  should  be  inaugu- 
rated the  very  first  day  he  meets  the  class,  watched 
closely  for  a  short  time  until  the  routine  has 
become  a  habit,  and  then  it  should  be  forgotten. 
Whenever  it  intrudes  upon  his  consciousness 
there  is  something  wrong,  some  weak  point  in  his 
organization.  To  an  observer  in  the  class  the 
only  way  in  which  the  system  is  apparent  is  in 
the  utilization  by  the  teacher  in  an  effective  way 
of  every  minute  of  the  instruction  period,  and  the 
1  Classroom  Management,  p.  13. 


MATTERS  OF  ROUTINE  35 

smoothness  with  which  the  mechanical  details 
are  disposed  of  without  interfering  with  the  work 
of  instruction. 

In  every  system  the  one  who  carries  the  ultimate 
responsibility  must  check  up  the  work  of  the  others, 
and  so  it  is  here.  To  keep  his  machin- 
ery well  oiled  and  working  smoothly 
it  will  be  necessary  to  check  up  the  work  of  the 
various  students  who  are  entrusted  with  the 
different  details ;  he  will  take  occasion  at  times 
to  commend  them  for  conscientious  and  efficient 
work,  and  receive  with  enthusiasm  any  good 
suggestion  bearing  upon  the  work  of  the  various 
students. 

In  the  operation  of  such  a  system  the  teacher 
has  an  excellent  opportunity  to  develop  in  the 
students  the  characteristics  that  make  for  success 
in  after  life.  Qualities  of  initiative,  honesty, 
reliability,  and  the  ability  to  work  in  harmonious 
co-operation  with  others  are  all  fruitfully  employed, 
and  the  student  acquires  the  correct  attitude 
towards  work  and  the  power  of  accepting  responsi- 
bility, things  which  are  not  by  any  means  negligible 
factors  in  any  scheme  of  education. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TEACHING   DEVICES 

MOST  teachers  use  certain  special  devices  of  a 
mechanical  nature  that  serve  to  economize  labor 
and  time  in  the  work  of  instruction,  and  a  descrip- 
tion of  some  of  the  common  ones  may  serve  as  a 
suggestion  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with 
them.  Among  the  various  devices  in  use  may  be 
mentioned  drill  charts,  rubber  stamps,  ruled 
blackboards,  hand-punch,  stop-watch,  metronome, 
newspapers,  exercise  charts,  alphabetical  lists,  and 
test  sheets.  It  may  be  interesting  to  see  how 
these  things  can  be  used  to  facilitate  the  work  in 
the  classroom. 

It  is  a  good  idea  for  a  teacher,  as  soon  as  the  roll 
of  the  class  is  complete,  to  make  out  the  alphabe- 
tical list  and  have  it  mimeographed  so 
that  one  wil1  be  available  on  each  of 
the  many  occasions  he  has  to  check 
up  work  to  be  handed  in  by  the  students.  Usually 
this  is  done  by  using  the  roll-boek,  but  the  teacher 
dislikes  to  make  unnecessary  marks  in  this  book 
of  record  that  might  possibly  interfere  with  the 
attendance  record  ;  again,  the  checking  up  may 
be  handed  over  to  some  one  else  to  do,  and  it  is 
easier  to  hand  an  alphabetical  list  along  with  the 
work  and  retain  possession  of  the  roll-book. 
Let  the  teacher  think  how  many  times  during 
each  term  the  list  of  students  has  to  be  written 
36 


TEACHING  DEVICES  37 

out  for  one  purpose  or  another,  and  he  will  see  an 
immense  advantage  in  supplying  himself  with  a 
hundred  or  so  of  these  lists,  which  can  be  done 
in  a  very  short  space  of  time  and  with  little  or 
no  effort. 

It  is  desirable  in  all  cases  to  express  the  teacher's 
opinion  on  the  work  of  the  student,  and  when 
this  work  is  returned  to  him,  he  must 
stamps  see  a*  a  g^31106  that  he  has  done  well 
or  ill.  It  is  a  great  waste  of  time  for  the 
teacher  to  write  his  opinion  of  the  work  on  each 
paper,  so  many  teachers  have  adopted  a  set  of 
words  that  expresses  their  estimate  of  the  work, 
and  these  have  been  put  into  rubber  stamps. 
Such  stamps  consisting  of  the  name  of  the  teacher 
and  the  words  "  Excellent,"  "  Fair,"  "  Satisfac- 
tory," "  Unsatisfactory,"  "  Re-write,"  etc.,  can 
be  made  with  little  expense  and  their  use  saves  a 
lot  of  time.  However,  it  is  possible  to  make  one 
stamp  serve  the  purpose  nicely,  and  this  can  be 
done  by  adopting  one  with  a  general  term  applicable 
to  all  sorts  of  work,  such,  for  example,  as 
"  Approved."  The  withholding  of  this  approval 
may  be  used  to  indicate  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of 
the  work  or  possibly  the  necessity  for  re-writing  it. 
Another  time-saving  device  is  the  use  of  special 
test  sheets  ruled  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  test.  This  ruling  may 
Test  Sheets,  vary  to  suit  the  ideas  of  the  individual 
teacher,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
no  matter  what  form  he  adopts,  the  use  of  these 


38 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 


sheets  will  save  much  time.     Below  is  given  a 
suggested   arrangement. 


TEST  SHEET. 


(Name.) 


(Dale.) 


No. 

Word 
in  Short- 
hand. 

Correc- 
tions. 

Word 
in  Short- 
hand. 

Correc- 
tions. 

Gram- 

malogs. 

Phrases. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

TEACHING  DEVICES  39 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  left  column  is  used  for 
the  numbers,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  number 
the  other  columns  as  in  order  to  determine  the 
number  of  a  word  in  the  second  column  it  is  only 
necessary  to  add  twenty  or  whatever  number 
appears  in  the  first  column.  It  is  usual  with 
some  teachers  to  give  the  corrections  to  the  student 
when  the  papers  are  returned,  hence  the  extra 
column  for  corrections  ;  for  those  who  do  not 
favor  such  a  course,  the  correction  column  could 
be  omitted,  or  it  could  be  used  by  the  student 
when  the  correction  is  made.  In  the  same  way 
the  number  of  grammalogs  may  be  increased  or 
diminished.  Where  the  teacher  offers  dictation 
as  part  of  the  test  the  lower  part  of  the  sheet  could 
be  left  for  that  purpose,  and  if  it  is  usual  for  the 
pupil  to  furnish  a  statement  of  rules,  this  could  be 
done  on  the  back.  The  form  of  the  sheet  and  its 
individual  variations  are  of  little  importance ; 
what  is  of  importance  is  the  use  of  some  form  which 
will  enable  the  class  to  start  the  test  as  soon  as 
the  paper  is  given  out. 

The  use  of  a  stop-watch  saves  many  a  half- 
minute  in  the  speed  class.  Its  use  renders  it 
unnecessary  to  wait  until  the  second- 
Watch  hand  reaches  the  sixty  mark  before 
beginning  the  dictation,  as  is  so  often 
the  case  when  the  ordinary  watch  is  used.  Neither 
is  it  so  hard  to  keep  track  of  the  minutes  and 
seconds  that  expire  if  they  appear  in  a  way  that 
is  specially  provided  for  that  purpose.  It  is  quite 


40  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

true  that  such  watches  are  not  distributed  by 
Boards  of  Education  or  by  private  school  managers, 
but  it  is  also  true  that  they  can  be  obtained  for 
less  than  ten  dollars,  and  their  use  will  easily  repay 
the  teacher  in  a  short  time  for  the  outlay. 

Some  shorthand  teachers  use,  with  success,  a 
drill  chart  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  automatic 

control  the  student  has  gained  of  the 
Charts  grammalogs,  phrases,  or  the  words  in 

a  given  prepared  selection.  The  drill 
is  conducted  by  inserting  the  words  in  the  spaces 
of  the  chart  in  any  order  and  raising  the  speed 
each  time  they  are  dictated,  the  dictator  being  at 
liberty  to  change  the  sequence  of  the  words  each 
time  he  reads,  and  yet  being  able  always  to  get  the 
proper  sequence  after  reading  by  remembering 
what  paths  he  took  around  the  chart.  When  the 
student  is  called  to  read  back  what  he  has  taken, 
the  teacher  is  then  able  to  check  the  reading.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  reader  may  start  at  the 
upper  left-hand  corner  and  read  horizontally  from 
left  to  right,  or  for  the  second  reading  he  may  start 
at  the  same  place  and  read  vertically  ;  or  he  may 
start  at  the  upper  right-hand  corner  and  read 
horizontally  or  vertically,  and  so  forth.  With  this 
chart  the  reading  may  be  varied  in  many  ways,  and 
the  reading  of  the  student  can  always  be  checked 
by  simply  remembering  the  plan  of  reading. 
On  page  41  is  given  a  drill  chart. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  small  chart  thirty- 
five  words  may  be  drilled  upon  until  they  become 


TEACHING   DEVICES 


41 


Citizens  of 
the  United 
States 

cherish 

friendly 

Atlantic 

European 

relating 

seriously 

hemisphere 

necessity 

connected 

obvious 

enlightened 

system 

impartial 

political 

matured 

achieved 

felicity 

devoted 

candor 

amicable 

in  a 

position 

provided 

security 

neutrality 

adhered 

competent 

pursuit 

insurgent 

contention 

discern 

attributes 

fervently 

perpetuate 

inaugural 

automatic,  that  the  chart  may  be  enlarged  to 
accommodate  more  or  condensed  for  less,  and  that 
instead  of  words,  grammalogs  or  phrases  could  be 
substituted.  The  teacher  can  have  a  number  of 
these  charts  mimeographed  and  insert  the  material 
for  drill  at  his  convenience,  or,  better  still,  he  may 
have  his  note-book  ruled  up  for  them. 

In  the  previous  chapter  reference  was  made  to 
checking  the  home-work  of  students.  An  exercise 
cnart  *s  used  f°r  this  purpose  con- 
taining the  names  of  the  students 
arranged  alphabetically  on  horizontal 
lines  which  extend  across  the  page.  Immediately 
after  the  names  a  vertical  line  is  drawn  extending 

4— (499) 


Daily  Re- 
cord of 
Home-work. 


42     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

from  top  to  bottom  ;  the  rest  of  the  page  is  ruled 
up  with  other  vertical  lines  about  one-eighth  or 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  apart.  These  spaces 
following  the  individual  names  correspond  to  the 
dates  upon  which  written  work  is  due.  When  a 
student  hands  in  his  work,  a  check  mark  is  placed 
in  the  square  for  that  day  ;  if  he  is  present  and 
fails  to  hand  it  in,  a  single  line  is  made  in  the 
square  opposite  his  name  ;  when  he  brings  in  the 
work,  he  shows  it  to  the  teacher  who  stamps  it, 
and  then  it  is  taken  to  the  student  who  checks 
the  exercises  and  the  single  line  is  crossed  with 
another.  In  this  way  a  clear  record  of  the  stu- 
dents' work  is  obtained  without  worry  or  fretting 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  At  the  end  of  the 
period  when  inspection  of  records  is  undertaken 
by  the  teacher,  a  student  who  was  marked  with 
a  check  every  day  did  the  work  satisfactorily 
every  day ;  three  crosses  would  indicate  that  a 
student  failed  three  times,  but  that  he  had  made 
up  the  work,  whereas  three  single  strokes  would 
indicate  that  he  had  failed  three  times  and  had 
not  made  up  the  work.  By  marking  an  "  A  " 
in  the  space  when  a  student  is  absent,  this  chart 
could  serve  to  record  the  attendance.  The  chart 
is  given  on  page  43. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  economy  of 
time  and  effort  brought  about  by  having  ruled 
Ruled  blackboards,  yet  obvious  as  is  the  fact, 

Boards.  many  teachers  find  that  they  have  to 
work  with  boards  that  have  to  be  continually 


TEACHING  DEVICES 


43 


MAMKS  OF 
STUDENTS. 

SEPTEMBER. 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

Abbott,  Chas.    .. 

N/ 

V 

X 

/ 

v/ 

>/ 

X 

/ 

v/ 

V 

Burns,  James     .  . 

V 

/ 

V 

X 

/ 

I 

Collins,  James   .  . 

V 

X 

>/ 

I/ 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

ruled.  This  results  either  in  a  great  loss  of  time 
or  in  the  acquirement  by  the  pupils  of  slovenly 
habits  of  writing.  The  teacher  who  is  handi- 
capped by  having  to  work  with  boards  that  are 
not  permanently  ruled  should  lose  no  time  in 
urging  his  superiors  to  remedy  the  matter. 

When  exercises  are  done  in  a  note-book  some 
teachers  are  in  the  habit  of  examining  the  book, 
and  then  cancelling  the  pages  by  draw- 
ing lines  down  the  center.  The  object 
seems  to  be  to  show  that  the  work  has 
been  inspected,  and  to  keep  it  from  being  offered 


Hand 
Punch. 


44     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

again  on  another  occasion.  For  cancelling  purposes 
there  is  nothing  better  than  a  hand-punch 
similar  to  the  one  conductors  use  in  punching 
transfers.  All  the  pages  may  be  cancelled  at 
once,  and  the  neat  appearance  of  the  pages  is  not 
marred. 

Some  teachers  see  a  big  advantage  in  making 
use  of  newspapers  as  a  teaching  device.     In  the 

speed  class,  fresh,  interesting  material 
Newspapers,  can  often  be  found,  and  the  work 

seems  to  have  a  practical  spontaneous 
turn  to  it  that  is  sometimes  lacking  in  the  dictation 
taken  from  a  text-book.  By  a  judicious  selection  of 
newspapers  and  discrimination  in  the  choice  of  the 
contributor  much  of  current  events  can  be  learned 
by  the  class.  However,  if  this  discrimination  is 
not  shown  much  harm  may  be  done. 

The  use  of  a  metronome  in  a  speed  class  for 
dictation  purposes  and  in  an  elementary  class  for 

reading  purposes  is  something  of  a 
Metronome,  mooted  question.  Many  teachers  object 

to  it  for  dictation  on  the  ground  that 
it  produces  a  monotonous  tone,  that  the  ticking  of 
it  disturbs  the  concentration  of  the  student  and 
interferes  with  his  hearing,  that  proper  phrasing 
is  not  possible,  and  lastly,  that  it  is  not  practical 
in  that  dictation  is  never  given  in  a  business  office 
in^anything  like  the  measured  rhythm  of  the 
metronome.  These  are  serious  objections,  and 
they  all  have  their  weight,  but  a  teacher  who  has 


TEACHING  DEVICES  45 

them  in  mind  can  very  easily  accustom  himself 
to  the  use  of  the  machine  so  as  to  overcome  most 
of  them.  A  monotone  is  not  essential  nor  a 
necessary  consequence  of  such  dictation.  The 
first  few  times  the  metronome  is  used  in  a  class  it 
invariably  upsets  the  students,  but  after  a  little 
practice  with  it  they  do  not  mind  it,  and  classes 
have  been  known  to  express  a  preference  for  it. 
If  the  teacher  will  have  a  little  patience  in  prac- 
tising with  it,  the  ability  to  phrase  will  gradually 
be  developed ;  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  keep 
track  of  the  ticks,  and  when  two  or  more  words 
are  run  together  make  the  proper  allowance  for 
them,  and  when  the  number  of  ticks  have  been 
given,  continue.  The  objection  that  it  is  not  prac- 
tical because  it  is  different  from  office  dictation 
could  also  be  made  against  all  measured  dictation 
so  that  it  is  no  stronger  here  than  against  reading 
any  selection  at  a  measured  rate.  Since  the 
objections  raised  to  the  use  of  the  metronome  do 
not  necessarily  result,  and  since  its  use  can  be 
advantageous  to  the  instructor  in  that  it  permits 
him  to  observe  the  actual  operations  of  the  student 
taking  notes  while  a  substitute  dictator  is  reading, 
the  restricted  use  of  it  is  recommended.  By 
restricted  use  is  meant  the  use  by  the  scholars  ; 
but  there  seems  to  exist  no  reason  why  the  teacher 
should  need  it  as  an  aid  in  dictating  at  a  measured 
rate,  unless  it  is  the  fact  that  it  renders  unnecessary 
the  counting  off  of  the  words  in  a  selection.  But 


46  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

a  teacher  with  his  work  prepared  will  never  need 
this  assistance. 

These  devices  are  the  result  of  some  teachers' 
experience,  and  they  are  described  here  rather 
in  the  hope  of  suggestion  than  as  indispensable 
factors  in  the  work. 


CHAPTER  V 

ELEMENTS   IN   THE   RECITATION 

IN  considering  the  shorthand  recitation  in  this 
chapter  the  word  recitation  will  not  be  restricted 
to  its  etymological  meaning  which  would  be  con- 
fined simply  to  reproducing  what  has  been  pre- 
viously learned ;  but  it  will  be  used  with  that 
broader  significance  which  refers  to  all  the  work 
done  in  a  shorthand  class  during  the  time  commonly 
designated  as  a  "  period." 

The  form  of  the  recitation  and  the  elements 
entering  into  it  are  influenced  by  the  character 
of  the  subject  matter,  and  by  the 
Recitation  sp60^  purpose  underlying  the  recita- 
tion. Thus  the  recitation  in  an  elocu- 
tion class  will  be  different  from  that  in  an  art  class 
in  certain  essential  respects ;  that  in  a  history 
class  will  differ  from  that  in  a  typewriting  class, 
but  will  probably  resemble  the  recitation  of  an 
English  class.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
subjects  are  different  in  character,  that  a  different 
kind  of  response  is  required.  Some  subjects  are 
primarily  thought  developing,  those  which  accustom 
the  student  to  the  logical  processes  of  analysis, 
synthesis,  and  judgment  ;  others  are  fact-giving, 
those  in  which  a  series  of  facts,  more  or  less 
intimately  related  to  life,  are  presented ;  yet 
others  are  primarily  for  the  development  of  certain 
47 


48  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

standards  of  taste,  those  which  give  the  data  for 
the  determination  of  aesthetic  values ;  and  yet  others 
are  chiefly  skill-developing  and  habit-forming, 
those  in  which  the  power  of  accuracy  and  speed 
in  execution  are  the  main  desiderata.  It  is  not 
contended  that  any  subject  in  the  curriculum  is 
exclusively  as  described  but  that  such  is  its 
principal  aim.  There  is  no  doubt  that  shorthand 
belongs  in  the  skill-developing  class  of  subjects. 

Again,  the  recitation  will  be  affected  by  the 
specific  purpose  which  the  teacher  has  in  mind, 
and  which  he  hopes  to  accomplish 
Redtetion"  throu§h  the  recitation.  This  gives 
rise  to  emphasis  being  distributed ; 
at  one  time  appearing  on  one  phase  and  at  another 
on  a  different  phase  until  the  recitation  at  one  time 
is  merely  a  drill  period,  and  at  another  an  instruc- 
tion period.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  the 
effectiveness  of  method  until  the  purpose 
underlying  the  recitation  as  a  whole  is  known. 

As  the  nature  of  the  'subject  determines  the 
character  of  the  recitation,  and  as  the  problems 
in  an  elementary  shorthand  class  are 
Redtetion.°f  somewhat  different  from  those  in  the 
advance  and  speed  class,  the  recitation 
elements  in  each  will  be  considered  separately. 
In  almost  every  shorthand  recitation  in  a  theory 
class  there  are  four  elements  :  (a)  drill ;  (b)  repro- 
duction ;  (c)  instruction,  and  (d)  assignment.  The 
drill  is  provided  for  those  factors  which  should  l)e 
made  automatic  from  the  very  beginning,  such  as 


ELEMENTS   IN  THE   RECITATION  49 

the  grammalogs,  contractions,  and  the  more 
common  of  the  phonographic  phrases.  Repro- 
duction is  the  process  through  which  the  student 
is  given  the  opportunity  to  recall  the  principles 
he  has  learned  and  in  which  he  displays  his  ability 
to  apply  them.  Instruction  is  the  operation 
through  which  the  teacher  presents  the  new  princi- 
ples for  acquisition.  The  assignment  is  the  work 
given  by  the  teacher  to  the  class  through  which 
the  students  are  led  to  further  study  and  the 
application  of  the  new  knowledge.  Unless  some 
special  demand  occasions  it,  every  lesson  in 
shorthand  should  have  all  of  these  elements. 

The  points  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  considering 

the  elements  of  drill  are  its  place  in  the  recitation, 

the  time  used,  the  subject  matter,  and 

lastly,  the  details  of  conducting  the 

drill,  which  must  follow  the  principles  of  habit 

formation. 

The  place  in  the  recitation  to  conduct  the  drill 
is  at  the  beginning.  There  are  two  good  reasons 
for  this :  first,  the  problem  of  holding 
the  attention  in  a  drill  exercise  after 
the  first  minute  or  two  is  more  difficult  than  it  is 
if  the  drill  is  placed  at  the  beginning  when  the 
pupils  are  mentally  fresh  and  they  are  better  able 
to  sustain  the  attention  ;  second,  the  drill  furnishes 
an  excellent  method  of  getting  the  class  into  active 
operation  without  the  loss  of  a  moment.  It 
demands  that  the  entire  class  be  ready,  and  not 
merely  the  one  individual  who  is  to  recite  first. 


50  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

Just  as  soon  as  the  teacher  steps  inside  the  class- 
room the  drill  should  be  started,  and  in  a  second 
the  entire  class  has  settled  down  to  work  ;  no 
calling  to  order,  no  tapping  on  the  desk,  no  recita- 
tion going  on  with  half  the  class  attentive.  It  has 
another  advantage  in  that  it  starts  the  lesson  off 
briskly  and  injects  into  it  what  the  baseball 
enthusiast  calls  "  ginger,"  stimulating  the  minds 
to  rapid  thought  and  setting  a  good  pace  from  the 
start. 

The  time  required  for  a  drill  exercise  will  vary 
according  to  the  amount  of  material  in  it,  the 

preparedness  of  the  class,   and  other 
Length. 

special  conditions,  but  it  is  safe  to  say 

that  it  should  never  be  extended  over  ten  minutes, 
and  very  seldom  that  long.  Care  must  betaken 
that  the  drill  does  not  become  monotonous  by  being 
too  long,  for  then  the  good  results  otherwise  obtained 
are  lost.  Drills  that  are  well  organized,  where 
there  is  complete  understanding  between  the 
teacher  and  class  as  to  what  is  expected  of  each, 
will  take  less  time  than  where  the  class  has  no 
such  definite  understanding. 

While  every  element  of  the  shorthand  theory 
can  be  utilized  for  drill  purposes,  yet  those  factors 
which  by  their  very  nature  presuppose 
the  absence  of  reflection,  are  the  princi- 
pal material  for  the  shorthand  drill :  grammalogs, 
contractions,    and    phrases.     It    is    possible    to 
conduct  a  drill  on  any  particular  principle,  or  set 
of   principles,    by   constant    repetition    succeeded 


ELEMENTS   IN   THE  RECITATION  51 

by  application,  but  the  things  for  which  the  drill 
in  shorthand  are  most  essential  are  the  ones 
enumerated  above. 

Before  considering  the  way  in  which   a  drill 
should  be  organized  and  conducted,  it  is  necessary 

first  to  examine  carefully  the  laws  of 
Motivation. 

habit   formation   and  see  which  ones 

are  applicable  to  the  shorthand  drill.  It  would 
seem  that  the  first  one  that  has  any  bearing  on 
the  subject  is  the  law  of  motivation.1  "A 
motive  must  be  provided  for  the  work.  The 
stronger  this  incentive,  the  greater  will  be  the 
attention  given  to  the  work  in  hand  and  the 
sooner  will  the  desired  result  be  secured.  Very 
much  of  the  drill  work  which  is  done  is  well-nigh 
futile  because  it  is  imposed  upon  children.  They 
do  not  see  its  significance,  and  feel  little  interest 
in  the  accomplishment  of  the  results  demanded." 
This  is  another  instance  when  the  instructor  should 
take  the  class  into  his  confidence  ;  it  should  not 
be  a  difficult  matter,  for  instance,  to  show  the 
necessity  for  a  ready  knowledge  of  the  grammalogs 
or  contractions,  because  ignorance  of  them  brings 
about  a  feeling  of  such  utter  helplessness  that  the 
need  of  earnest  study  and  mastery  of  them  is 
daily  brought  home  to  the  students.  If  this  is 
the  case,  why,  it  may  be  asked,  do  teachers  find 
it  difficult  to  have  the  class  learn  the  grammalogs, 
etc.  ?  The  answer  is  that  where  the  pupils  have 

1  Strayer's   A    Brief  Course  in    the    Teaching   Process, 
' 


52     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

the  motive,  the  teacher  must  have  failed  to 
organize  his  drill  properly,  that  certain  other 
elements  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  class  have 
been  neglected. 

The  second  law  of  habit  formation  operating  in 
the  shorthand  drill  is  that  of  focalization.1  It  is 
stated  as  follows  :  "  Processes  that  are 
zation"  to  ^e  ma<^e  habitual  or  automatic  must 
first  be  focalized."  With  this  law  in 
mind  in  arranging  a  grammalog  drill,  we  should  first 
strive  to  strip  the  grammalogs  of  their  arbitrary 
character  by  explaining  the  plan  operating  through 
them  ;  by  showing  some  logical  connection  between 
them  and  by  offering  some  means  of  effective 
association.  A  careful  analysis  of  the  grammalogs 
in  Pitmanic  shorthand  will  repay  the  teacher  by 
giving  him  a  more  intelligent  appreciation  of  the 
plan  running  through  them  than  is  gained  by 
simply  accepting  them  as  they  are  presented  in  the 
text -books.  In  at  least  three-quarters  of  the  cases 
the  grammalogs  are  what  is  known  as  "  regular," 
those  containing  all  the  consonants  in  the  word 
and  occupying  the  position  indicated  for  the  word 
by  the  vowel.  The  irregular  ones  are  of  three 
kinds  :  those  which  do  not  contain  all  the  con- 
sonants in  the  word,  such  as  principle  ;  those  which 
violate  the  principles  of  theory  for  convenience  in 
writing,  such  as  are,  our,  could  ;  and  those  which 
are  written  out  of  their  proper  position  to  avoid 
clashing  with  some  other  grammalog,  or  to  leave 

1  Bagley's  Educative  Process,  p.  122. 


ELEMENTS   IN   THE  RECITATION  53 

the  second  position  for  another  which  receives 
preference  on  account  of  frequency,  such  as  go, 
be,  it. 1  ("  All  About  the  Grammalogs — More 
About  the  Grammalogs.")  The  contractions  may 
be  classified  in  a  similar  way.  When  the  teacher 
is  able  to  explain  some  of  the  apparent  inconsis- 
tencies, when  the  plan  is  shown  to  the  class, 
focalization  is  secured  and  each  recall  thereafter 
is  easier.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  principle 
of  habit  formation  laid  down  by  Professor  Thorn- 
dike,  who  says  :2  "  Where  possible,  present  the 
element  by  itself  before  presenting  the  gross  total 
situations  in  which  it  inheres."  The  grammalogs 
themselves  should  be  considered  and  practised 
before  presenting  them  in  dictation,  which  in  this 
case  corresponds  to  the  gross  total  situation  in 
which  they  inhere. 

The  next  law  to  be  considered  is  the  law  of 
repetition.     Many  teachers  make  the  mistake  of 

thinking  that   repetition   is  drill   and 
Repetition.        .  f  . 

vice  versa,  and  their  chagrin  is  great 

when  they  find  that  after  inflicting  endless  repeti- 
tions on  the  class,  there  is  not  the  slightest  im- 
provement. Repetition  is  certainly  necessary, 
but  it  must  be  repetition  with  attention,  with  the 
material  of  the  drill  brought  into  the  focus  of 
consciousness  and  kept  there.  In  attempting  to 
make  a  series  of  grammalogs  automatic  it  is  obvious 
that  the  more  frequent  the  operation  is  performed 


*«**-      MHV    MWmV     AA  \sUUV*  A  A  I      IAAV*     VJ^/tsl.  CIL1W11 

1  Phonographic  Monthly.  Vol.  9,  1905. 

2  Education,  p.  175. 


54  METHODS  OF   TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

the  more  it  tends  to  become  automatized  ;  there- 
fore exercise  on  the  series  should  be  conducted 
daily  until  its  elements  are  thoroughly  mastered. 
Once  automatic  control  has  been  obtained,  the 
periods  elapsing  between  drills  may  gradually 
be  lengthened.  When  a  new  series  is  taken  up, 
the  old  should  not  be  dropped  altogether  but  drill 
should  be  given  upon  it  every  second,  then  every 
third,  fourth  day,  etc.,  until  the  periods  extend 
to  a  week  or  two  weeks. 

Another  question  which  arises  in  connection 
with  this  repetition  work  is  the  holding  of  the 
attention.  One  of  the  biggest  factors  in  obtaining 
Holding  this  result  is  the  way  in  which  the  drill 
Attention.  js  conducted.  If  the  grammalogs  are 
to  be  dictated,  they  may  be  read  in  two 
ways  :  (1)  in  a  related  series,  as  by,  be,  to  be;  at, 
it,  out;  or  they  may  be  arranged  promiscu- 
ously. If  the  former  system  is  used,  the  pupils 
very  quickly  learn  the  sequence  and  attention 
from  that  time  on  is  unnecessary ;  the  first  word 
gives  the  series,  and  the  others  are  written  without 
thought,  and  if  the  dictator  omitted  them,  fre- 
quently they  would  be  written  anyhow.  This 
system,  while  it  does  eventually  result  in  the 
pupils  learning  the  grammalogs,  yet  requires  many 
times  the  repetition  practice,  and  it  is  not  as  lasting 
nor  dependable.  The  promiscuous  reading  of 
the  grammalogs  can  very  easily  be  taken  care  of 
by  using  the  drill  chart  explained  in  Chapter  IV, 
page  40.  When  they  are  read  in  this  way  the 


ELEMENTS  IN   THE  RECITATION  55 

student  cannot  supply  the  missing  word  from  the 
series,  but  he  must  depend  altogether  upon  what 
he  has  taken  down  in  his  notes.  Another  way  in 
which  the  drill  can  be  made  interesting  is  through 
variation  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  conducted.  One 
day  the  words  could  be  dictated  as  explained  ; 
the  next  day  the  drill  chart  could  be  placed  on 
the  board  and  the  class  could  read  the  words  in 
the  order  indicated  by  the  teacher  ;  other  varia- 
tions could  be  devised  such  as  taking  a  shorthand 
exercise  containing  the  grammalogs  and  setting 
a  time-limit  on  the  reading. 

The  last  point  bearing  upon  drill  is  the  necessity 
of  getting  things  correct  the  first  time.  "  Our 
nervous  system  is  so  constructed  that 
to  do  anything  once  leaves  a  tendency 
to  do  the  same  thing  the  same  way  when  next 
we  are  placed  in  a  similar  situation." 1  This  shows 
the  necessity  for  close  observation  in  the  initial 
stages  of  the  practice  to  see  that  accurate  forms 
are  made.  The  motto  here,  as  in  everything 
else  stenographic,  is  "  Accuracy  first,  speed 
later." 

Reproduction  is  the  second  element  in  a  short- 
hand recitation.  In  every  lesson  there  should  be 
given  to  the  student  the  opportunity 
duction  to  reca^  an<^  reproduce,  preferably 
in  his  own  words,  the  ideas  he  has 
gained  from  previous  instruction.  In  doing  this 

1  Strayer's    A   Brief  Course  in   the  Teaching  Process, 
p.  46. 


56  METHODS   OF   TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

he  has  the  chance  to  show  that  it  is  clearly  under- 
stood and  an  apperceptive  basis  for  the  new 
instruction  is  established.  This  reproduction  may 
take  one  of  several  different  forms,  depending  in 
a  measure  upon  the  nature  of  the  assignment. 
The  three  commonest  forms  of  reproduction  are 
(1)  by  question  and  answer  ;  (2)  by  topical  out- 
line ;  and  (3)  by  application.  The  reproduction 
may  be  oral  or  written.  In  the  shorthand  class 
by  far  the  commonest  of  the  three  is  reproduction 
by  written  application.  This  is  what  is  generally 
understood  as  "  homework  "  in  which  the  teacher 
assigns  a  certain  exercise  to  be  written  in  shorthand 
or  transcribed  into  longhand  because  it  requires  the 
application  of  certain  principles  previously  learned. 
Application  is  the  touchstone  of  theory,  but  the 
teacher  who  confines  the  reproduction  to  this 
method  alone  is  losing  many  opportunities  and 
making  his  own  work  doubly  hard. 

Reproduction  by  question  and  answer  is  the 
process  in  which  the  teacher,  by  a  series  of  well- 
formed  questions,  elicits  the  information 

?ndAn?wer. he  desires  and  shows  the  relation 
existing  between  the  several  rules  or 
principles.  It  does  not  mean  the  mass  of  isolated 
questions  designed  merely  to  puzzle  the  student. 
It  may  take  the  form  of  a  request  for  the  state- 
ment of  a  principle,  of  an  illustrative  word,  or  a 
word  may  be  given  and  the  student  may  be  asked 
to  state  the  problem  involved.  This  last  form  is 
one  of  the  most  effective  in  that  it  compels  the 


ELEMENTS   IN  THE  RECITATION  57 

student  to  analyse  the  word  to  find  the  problem 
and  then  make  a  conscious  application  of  the 
principle.  In  Pitmanic  shorthand  the  word  pause 
has  only  one  outline  problem,  the  proper  use  of 
the  circle  representing  "  s,"  and  if  the  student  can 
find  the  problem  or  several  problems  in  the  word, 
he  is  taking  the  first  effective  step  in  the  application 
of  the  principles  used  to  represent  the  word. 

Reproduction  by  topical  outline  signifies  that 
the  student  has  a  comprehension  of  the  lesson  as 

a  whole,  and  has  control  enough  of  it 
OutlTne  to  rePr°duce  the  author's  scheme 

without  using  the  language  of  the  text. 
A  statement  of  the  rule  is  made  followed  by  its 
application  in  some  cases  other  than  those  given 
as  illustrative  words  in  the  text.  An  orderly, 
systematic  presentation  of  the  lesson  is  made 
with  due  regard  for  its  logical  development. 
Expedients  are  added  to  different  kinds  of  strokes 
in  different  ways  ;  the  expedient  is  first  considered 
with  regard  to  straight  strokes,  then  to  curves, 
then  to  special  characters  as  in  the  lesson  on  initial 
or  final  hooks,  or  it  may  be,  that  the  strokes  may 
affect  the  expedient  through  another  classification, 
such  as  light,  heavy,  finally  hooked,  etc.,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  halving  principle.  A  pupil  who  can 
stand  before  the  class  and  show  this  compre- 
hensive grasp  of  the  theory  as  it  relates  to  each 
expedient  is  not  at  all  likely  to  make  mistakes 
in  the  application. 

In  the  use  of  reproduction  by  application,  the 

5— (499) 


58  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

severest  test  is  given,  it  is  true,  but  since  the  work 
is  not  done  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the 

teacher,  it  is  likely  to  be  unreliable  as 
Application.  .  , 

there  is  always  present  the  possibility 

of  "  copying  "  and  passing  off  as  the  student's 
own  work,  an  exercise  that  has  been  copied  from 
some  one  else.  So  that  it  is  wise  to  supplement 
this  method  of  reproduction  by  some  other  that 
will  serve  as  a  check.  At  the  same  time  it  will 
be  seen  that  this  method  combines  the  harmonious 
co-operation  of  mind  and  hand  which  is  so  essential 
in  shorthand  practice,  and  this  is  the  reason  for  its 
extended  use.  Each  of  these  methods  has  its  value 
and  the  possibilities  of  none  should  be  ignored. 

The  third  element  of  the  shorthand  recitation 
is  that  of  instruction,  but  as  this  topic  will  be  more 
fully  treated  in  a  later  chapter,  it  will  be  passed 
over  for  the  present. 

The  fourth  and  last  element  of  the  recitation 
is  the  assignment  of  work  for  the  next  period.  It 

is    frequently    stated    that    the    skill 
Assignment.   ,.     ,         ,     .  •  ,, 

displayed   in    the   assignment    is    the 

test  of  a  teacher's  ability.  One  thing  is 
certain  :  the  teacher  who  neglects  the  possibilities 
of  an  intelligent  assignment  cannot  long  count 
upon  having  adequate  preparation  of  work.  The 
brief,  purposeless  assignment,  "  Take  the  next 
exercise,"  is  the  mark  of  the  inefficient  teacher ; 
the  students  see  no  relation  between  the  classwork 
and  that  to  be  done  at  home  ;  they  probably  take 
it  as  just  about  what  it  is,  one  of  the  necessary 


ELEMENTS   IN    THE    RECITATION  59 

evils  with  which  it  is  customary  to  inflict  upon 
students. 

The  assignment  is  very  closely  related  to  the 

character  of  the  reproduction  work  expected  by 

the  teacher  in  the  following  session. 

Alignment.  Tt    may    CaU    for    the    ability   to    state 
correctly  the  rules  governing  the  use 

of  a  certain  shorthand  principle,  it  may  consist  of 
answering  certain  questions  which  will  serve  to 
bring  out  the  analogies  or  contrasts  of  the  present 
lesson  with  what  they  have  previously  learned,  or 
the  teacher  may  give  a  full  explanation  of  the  lesson 
in  class  and  then  assign  an  exercise  to  be  worked 
out  in  shorthand  to  test  the  application  of  the 
principles.  Better  still,  there  may  be  a  combina- 
tion of  these  different  assignments.  Many  teachers 
do  not  make  use  of  the  study  assignments  because 
they  assume  that  the  student  is  unable  to  under- 
stand the  lesson  without  a  special  explanation. 
When  the  pupil  is  continually  meeting  this  assump- 
tion, he  gradually  loses  the  initiative  in  study  and 
the  condition  becomes  real.  Many  people  have 
learned  shorthand  without  the  aid  of  a  teacher  and 
with  our  improved  text-books,  the  student  should 
be  encouraged  to  make  an  effort  on  his  own  account. 
-Re  should  be  encouraged  to  independent  study. 

In  the  assignment  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
encroach  on  too  much  of  the  student's  time.  The 
Time  instructor  should  have  accurate 

Demanded,  knowledge  of  how  long  it  will  take 
for  the  slowest  student  in  his  class  to  do  the 


60  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

work  and  be  sure  to  set  it  within  reasonable  bounds. 
It  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  that  all  the 
preparation  demanded  by  the  assignment  should 
take  no  longer  than  the  length  of  the  period  spent 
in  class. 

Such  are  the  elements  of  the  recitation  in  an 
elementary  shorthand  class.  The  principles  that 
have  been  established  apply  in  the  same  way  to  the 
work  of  a  speed  class,  but  the  material  is  different. 
In  the  chapter  describing  the  method  of  conducting 
a  speed  class  it  will  be  seen  how  these  principles 
operate. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LESSON   TYPES   IN   SHORTHAND 

IN  the  last  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  that  there 
were  four  elements  in  every  shorthand  recitation  : 
drill,  reproduction,  instruction,  and  assignment. 
Three  of  these,  the  first,  second  and  fourth,  were 
discussed  at  length  ;  it  is  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter  to  outline  the  ways  in  which  a  teacher 
of  shorthand  may  present  the  theory  of  the  subject 
to  his  class.  Before  any  practice  can  be  had  on 
any  principle  it  is  necessary  that  the  student  have 
a  clear  understanding  of  such  principle  and  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  principle  correctly 
operates.  The  problem  confronting  the  shorthand 
teacher  who  has  to  instruct  the  pupil 

Nature  of     how  and  when  to  write  the  circle  to 

Problem  m  „   .  . 

Shorthand,    represent     s     in  Pitmanic  shorthand, 

is  no  different  from  the  one  before  the 
teacher  of  geometry  who  has  to  instruct  the  pupil 
that  the  opposite  angles  of  two  intersecting 
straight  lines  are  equal ;  or  that  before  the  teacher 
of  algebra  who  wishes  his  class  to  learn  to  factor 
(«3-  6a),  or  the  teacher  of  French  who  wishes  the 
class  to  learn  the  use  of  the  contraction  "  du." 
The  method  followed  for  habituation  may  differ 
in  some  respects,  but  in  the  original  presentation 
of  the  idea,  all  the  problems  are  alike,  and  methods 
which  are  employed  with  one  may  be  employed 
with  all. 

61 


62  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 


Instruction  in  shorthand  proceeds  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  one  of  two  methods  :  the 
direct,  or  by  some  alluded  to  as  the 
Methods  deductive,  and  the  indirect^  or  induc- 
tive. Either  of  these  methods  is  gener- 
ally chosen  for  presenting  a  new  principle  ;  each 
has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages,  and  as  is 
most  natural,  each  has  its  enthusiastic  followers 
as  well  as  its  harsh  critics.  There  are  other 
methods  used  in  the  shorthand  classes  such  as  the 
analytic,  the  method  of  re-organization,  review, 
etc.,  but  these  are  considered  special  methods 
used  for  a  different  purpose. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  book,  the  terms 
"  direct "  and  "  indirect  "  will  be  used  Jn 
referring  to  the  two  general  methods.  /  In 
the  direcL-method  the  teacher  ex- 
plains the  principle  while  the  class 
listens,  absorbs,  and  applies  ;  he  works  from  the 
general  principle  to  its  application  in  particular 
instances  ;  he  tells  them  everything  about  the 
lesson  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  lesson  every  rule 
has  been  explained  and  practised  upon.  In  the 
indirect  method,  the  teacher  tells  as  little  as 
possible,  but  by  well-chosen  examples  of  the 
principle  in  particular  instances,  he  leads  the  class 
to  note  the  resemblances  and  differences  in  each 
outline,  eventually  getting  the  class  to  generalize 
from  what  they  have  observed. 

The  direct  method  of  instruction  in  shorthand 
may  be  divided  into  four  steps  :    (a)  organization 


LESSON   TYPES  IN   SHORTHAND  63 

of  words  containing  use  of  principle  ;  (b)  statement 
of    principle ;    (c)   application ;     (d)    verification. 

The  steps  given  here  are  practically 
Steps  m  self-explanatory,  but  to  remove  doubt 
Method.  each  will  be  denned.  In  the  first  step 

of  organizaLtion  the  teacher  selects 
words  illustrative^  the  various  rules  to  be  learned 
and  arranges  them  in  groups.  These  groups  are 
then  presented  as  problems  to  be  worked  out  in 
shorthand.  The  second  step  in  the  process  is 
then  reached.  By  the  statement  of  principle 
is  meant  the  giving  of  the  rule  or  principle  to  be 
taught,  the  conditions  under  which  the  rule  is 
operative.  The  step^  of  application  means 
that  as  soon  as  sufficient  explanation  has  been 
given  by  the  teacher,  he  will  immediately  call 
upon  the  class  for  its  application  to  words  not 
previously  used  ;  in  reality  the  step  of  application 
is  a  test  of  the  pupil's  power  to  apply  the  rule. 
Verification  is  the  process  by  which  the  pupil's 
work  in  application  is  proved  correct  or  incorrect, 
in  the  former  case  giving  him  confidence  in  his 
understanding  and  his  power  to  apply  what  he 
has  just  learned,  and  in  the  latter  offering  him  the 
opportunity  to  correct  any  misconception  that 
may  have  existed  in  his  mind  in  regard  to  the 
operation  of  the  principle. 

In  teaching  the  lesson  on  the  uses  of  the  "  s  " 
circle  in  Pitmanic  shorthand,  the  first  thing  to  be 
done  by  the  teacher  is  to  select  type  words  for 
each  phase  of  the  principle  and  write  them  in 


64  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

groups  on  the  board.  The  statement  of  the 
principle  would  be  that  "  a  small  circle  at  the 
beginning  of  the  stroke  represents 
Illustration  « s "  an(j  at  the  middle  or  the 
of  Direct  ,  , 

Method.        end    of    a    word   it   represents      s 

or  "  z  "  and  that  it  is  written 
inside  of  curves,  with  the  "  zero "  motion 
on  straight  strokes,  and  outside  of  angles. 
Or,  it  may  be  stated  in  any  other  way  that  the 
teacher  prefers.  Some  prefer  to  state  that  the 
circle  is  written  on  the  right  of  downstrokes,  left 
of  upstrokes,  inside  curves,  outside  of  angles,  and 
inside  the  first  of  two  curves,  depending  upon  the 
antithetical  elements  to  assist  the  memory.  Before 
proceeding  to  application  many  teachers  offer 
illustrations,  although  it  is  not  a  necessary  part  of 
the  process  at  this  point.  Illustration  of  the 
principle  means  that  the  teacher  would  take  each 
particular  of  the  statement  and  show  how  it  applies. 
Words  illustrating  these  particulars  could  be  then 
written  on  the  board,  and  the  way  in  which  they 
affected  the  principle  could  be  pointed  out ;  thus 
in  the  word  "  pass  "  the  circle  must  be  added  to  a 
straight  stroke,  and  that  part  of  the  principle  which 
speaks  of  the  "  zero  "  motion  applies  ;  or  in  the 
other  case,  it  is  to  be  joined  to  a  straight  down- 
stroke,  therefore  the  circle  is  written  on  the  right, 
and  so  on.  In  the  application,  the  teacher  dictates 
words  embodying  the  principle  in  its  various  parts 
and  the  students  try  to  recognize  the  problem 
contained  in  the  word.  As  soon  as  the  problem  is 


LESSON   TYPES   IN    SHORTHAND  65 

ascertained,  the  application  of  the  principle  is  easy. 
After  the  words  are  dictated  and  the  attempt  at 
application  is  made  by  the  student  the  teacher 
then  adopts  some  method  of  verifying  the  work. 
He  either  writes  the  outlines  on  the  board,  or  has 
a  student  do  so.  Opportunity  is  then  given  for 
a  full  discussion. 

The  indirect  method  is  divided  into  five  steps  as 
follows  :  (a)  review  :^_  (b)  introduction^,  (c)  ex- 
amination ;  (d)  organization  ;  and  (e) 
Steps  in  formulation.  In  the  review  the  teacher 
Method.  brings  before  the  class  briefly  any 
principles  that  are  related  to  the  new 
principle  to  be  learned  and  the  problem  of  the  lesson 
is  stated.  In  the  introduction  the  teacher  places 
his  well-selected  outlines  illustrating  the  principle 
on  the  board  for  the  attention  of  the  pupils. 
Examination  of  the  outlines  is  then  made  by  the 
students  and  they  proceed,  with  or  without  the 
help  of  the  teacher  to  notice  the  analogies  or 
differences  in  the  examples  until  they  are  ready 
to  make  a  classification  and  organize  the  outlines 
accordingly.  As  soon  as  the  general  idea  is 
grasped,  the  formulation  of  the  rule  or  principle 
can  be  made.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  direct 
method  the  statement  of  the  principle  comes  first, 
whereas  in  the  indirect  method  the  principle 
comes  last  as  a  result  of  the  observation  and 
thought  efforts  of  the  student. 

In  the  Pitmanic  lesson  on  the  circle  "  s  "  referred 
to  above,  the  review  would  include  remarks  on 


66     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

the  necessity  of  abbreviating  devices  in  shorthand, 
the  frequency  of  the  letter    "  s,"    and  consider- 
ation    of   the   letter    "  h."    the    only 
Example.  . 

case   in     which    the    circle    has   been 

previously  used.  The  problem  then  would  be  to 
see  how  "  S  "  or  "  Z  "  is  represented  and  how  the 
expedient  could  be  written  in  various  cases.  The 
step  of  introduction  would  require  the  words 
illustrating  the  different  principles  to  be  placed 
in  groups  on  the  blackboard,  the  number  of  groups 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  particulars  it  is 
desired  to  develop  in  the  organization.  After 
studying  the  first  group  the  class  might  observe 
that  the  sound  "  S  "  is  always  represented  by  a 
small  circle  ;  that  it  always  appears  inside  a  curve, 
and  so  on  with  the  other  phases  of  the  principle. 
As  soon  as  these  things  have  been  noted,  the  rule 
for  writing  the  circle  in  each  case  can  be  established 
and  formulated  by  the  class.  In  this  way,  the 
students  do  the  work  and  the  teacher  keeps  in  the 
background,  just  guiding  and  stimulating  the 
thought  where  necessary.  The  class  judges  of  the 
value  of  the  individual  contributions  of  the  pupils 
and  checks  up  statements  by  testing  them  out. 

In   considering   the   advantages   of   the   direct 

method,  the  first  that  must  be  mentioned  is  the 

economy    of    time.     It    is    certainly 

'  quicker  to  tell  the  student  the  principle 

than  it  is  to  develop  it  by  a  series  of  questions  and 

answers ;  the  information  is  all  there,  and  it  is 

put  at  the  command  of  the  student  without  delay. 


LESSON   TYPES   IN   SHORTHAND  67 

Another  advantage  claimed  for  the  direct  method 
is  that  in  enabling  the  teacher  to  give  the  principle 
immediately,  more  time  is  obtained  for  the  more 
essential  part  of  the  lesson,  the  application  of  the 
principle.  It  is  claimed  also  that  giving  the 
principle  direct  to  the  student,  holds  his  attention 
and  secures  his  interest,  operations  which  arc 
difficult  if  the  principle  is  withheld  from  him  and 
he  can  secure  it  only  after  many  deviations. 

The  objections  urged  against  the  direct  method 
are  chiefly  two  :  it  assumes  that  what  is  told  to  the 

student  is  as  well  understood  and  as 
vantages  we^  remembered  as  what  the  student 

discovers  for  himself  ;  and  it  affords 
the  student  no  opportunity  to  think  for  himself, 
all  the  thinking  being  done  for  him  by  the  teacher, 
or  taken  from  the  text -book.  These  objections 
may  properly  be  urged  as  advantages  claimed  for 
the  indirect  method,  the  users  of  which  assume 
that  thorough  comprehension  is  the  first  requisite 
for  making  a  process  automatic  ;  that  the  time 
spent  on  developing  the  principle  through  the 
thought  power  of  the  student  is  justified  in  that 
the  real  work  of  education  is  to  develop  ability 
to  think.  They  also  claim  that  the  time  devoted 
to  the  instruction  is  not  improperly  divided  by 
having  the  greater  part  of  it  spent  on  learning  the 
principle  and  the  lesser  part  given  to  practice, 
because  the  examination  of  the  examples  necessary 
to  learn  the  principle  is  a  sort  of  practice  involving 
the  application.  It  is  claimed  also  that  the  indirect 


68     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

method  is  most  successful  in  holding  the  attention 
of  the  pupils,  because  it  appeals  to  the  student  as 
something  which  has  been  accomplished  as  a 
result  of  his  efforts,  and  the  pleasurable  satisfaction 
he  feels  encourages  him  in  further  effort.  The 
chief  objection  raised  against  the  use  of  the  indirect 
method  is  that  it  wastes  time  in  having  the  pupil 
take  many  minutes  to  find  out  what  he  could  be 
told  in  one,  that  unimportant  details  are  made 
the  object  of  prolonged  search  and  eventual 
discovery.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  objec- 
tion is  valid  where  misplaced  emphasis  exists 
in  the  lesson. 

However,  all  the  disadvantages  pointed  out  for 
each  method  are  not  inherent  in  the  method  itself ; 
they  are  simply  incidental  to  the  use  of  the  method 
by  one  who  is  not  equipped  to  handle  it.  Not  all 
teachers  are  capable  of  using  the  indirect  method 
because  they  have  not  the  power  to  organize 
knowledge  in  a  systematic  way,  nor  the  ability 
to  lead  the  thought  of  the  class  by  skilful  ques- 
tioning. It  must  be  borne  in  mind  also  that 
some  lessons  are  more  susceptible  of  direct  treat- 
ment than  others,  and  that  one  method  used 
continuously  in  presenting  work  to  a  class  is  liable 
to  become  monotonous. 

The  method  of  analysis  is  that  in  which  the  rules 
are  dissected  and  the  particular  circumstances 
Other  connected  with  them  are  brought  before 

Methods.  the  student  with  special  emphasis. 
The  method  of  re-organization  is  that  in  which 


LESSON  TYPES  IN   SHORTHAND  89 

the  material  of  instruction  is  presented  in  a 
different  form  from  that  in  the  text ;  where 
the  arrangement  of  the  material  is  changed  to  fit 
a  different  plan  of  developmemV&s,  for  instance, 
in  changing  the  material  in  the  lesson  on  the 
"  shun  "  hook  in  the  Pitmanic  system  so  that  it 
would  be  presented  in  accordance  with  the  general 
principles  of  hand  motion,  vocalization,  and  balance. 
The  present  arrangement  is  based  upon  adding  the 
hook  to  curves,  simple  straight  strokes,  hooked 
straight  strokes,  and  the  special  cases  of  "  k  "  and 
"  g."  The  method  of  review  would  be  the  charting 
out  of  several  principles  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  connection  between  each  and  the  general 
logical  development  of  the  system.  No  teacher 
should  be  limited  to  the  use  of  only  one  method. 
The  best  results  will  be  obtained  by  the  teacher 
who  is  equipped  to  modify  his  instruction  and 
utilize  any  of  the  several 


CHAPTER   VII 

PLANS   FOR    INDIVIDUAL    INSTRUCTION 

IT  is  the  way  of  human  nature  when  dissatisfaction 
is  felt  with  a  certain  plan,  for  the  pendulum  of 
thought  to  swing  to  the  opposite  extreme.  So  it 
is  with  teachers  who  have  used  class  instruction 
and  have  suffered  a  temporary  set-back,  results 
not  being  produced  in  accordance  with  their 
expectations ;  they  immediately  begin  to  consider 
the  advantages  of  individual  instruction.  And 
so  it  is  also  with  those  who  have  found  dissatis- 
faction with  the  individual  plan  ;  they  swing  to 
the  class  or  group  instruction  plan.  Individual 
instruction  has  been  much  advertised  in  connec- 
tion with  shorthand,  and  it  may  be  interesting 
to  see  how  the  different  plans  are  operated.  With 
the  question  of  the  superiority  of  class  or  individual 
instruction,  this  chapter  is  not  concerned  ;  like 
most  other  things  there  is  much  to  be  said  for  and 
against  each. 

There  are  three  types  of  individual  instruction 

generally    recognized :     the    business-school,    the 

unit    method,    and    the    co-operative 

Types  of       method.     In  the  business  schools  where 

Individual 

Instruction,  the  teacher  conducts  the  instruction 

on  the  individual  plan  it  generally 
consists  in  the  teacher  calling  to  his  desk  the 
student  whose  work  is  to  be  examined,  correcting 

70 


PLANS   FOR   INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION          71 

the  exercise,  explaining  the  new  lesson,  and  giving 
directions  for  additional  practice  that  will  keep  the 
student  busy  while  the  teacher  is  doing  the  same 
thing  with  the  other  members  of  the  group.  For 
the  success  of  this  plan  it  is  necessary  that  the 
group  handled  by  each  teacher  should  not  be  large, 
as  he  would  not  have  enough  time  adequately 
to  examine  the  work  or  to  explain  new  princi- 
ples. Besides  having  a  small  number  in  the 
group  it  is  also  necessary  that  the  system  of  pro- 
motion be  flexible,  that  is,  as  soon  as  a  student 
finishes  a  certain  portion  of  the  work,  that 
student  is  promoted  to  a  higher  section  imme- 
diately, for  this  is  necessary  to  furnish  the  incentive 
to  be  actively  employed  while  the  teacher  is 
attending  to  some  one  else. 

The  unit  method  of  instruction  discards  the  use 
of  the  text  and  follows  the  lines  of  the  work  done 

by  the  correspondence  schools.  One 
Method  section  or  unit  of  the  work  is  done 

satisfactorily  by  the  student  before 
he  can  begin  work  on  the  next.  In  this  way  a 
large  number  of  students  can  be  handled  because 
the  instructor  uses  a  key  to  each  section  which 
he  hands  to  the  student  after  the  section  is  com- 
pleted and  the  student  corrects  his  exercise.  The 
section  containing  the  exercise  to  be  done  is  given 
to  the  pupil  immediately  after  the  principle  is 
explained  and  he  sets  to  work  at  it.  He  works 
until  it  is  completed  and  then  he  takes  the  com- 
pleted exercise  to  the  teacher  for  examination. 


72  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

The  teacher  then  gives  him  the  key  to  the  section 
just  completed,  and  the  student  finds  his  errors 
and  studies  out  the  reason  for  his  mistakes  ;  when 
a  satisfactory  one  cannot  be  found,  the  matter 
is  set  aside  to  be  taken  up  later  with  the  teacher. 
When  the  exercise  has  been  checked,  it  is  returned 
and  the  student  is  submitted  to  a  further  test  to 
determine  his  grasp  of  the  subject.  And  so  it 
goes  with  the  entire  group,  the  students  doing 
the  work  and  checking  it,  and  the  teacher  giving 
help  to  those  who  need  it,  inspecting  the  work  in 
a  general  way  and  testing  the  pupil's  ability  to 
apply  what  he  has  learned.  This  test  may  be 
arranged  to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  work  in  each 
principle  is  finished  by  having  a  set  of  mimeo- 
graphed test  sheets,  or  by  dictation  on  the  black- 
board, or  the  test  may  be  periodic,  say  at  the  end 
of  a  week,  and  including  certain  principles  in  a 
group. 

The  third  scheme  of  individual  instruction  in 

use  is  that  called  the  co-operative  plan.     In  this 

plan  the  teacher  makes  a  consecutive 

£j0J°perative  arrangement  of  seats  somewhat  after 

the  plan  on  page  73. 

In  the  first  row,  front  seat,  the  scholar  who  is 
most  likely  to  progress  most  rapidly  is  placed, 
the  others  ranging  in  consecutive  order  in  back 
of  him.  The  class  is  then  considered  as  a  group 
of  pupils  playing  a  game,  and  arrangements  are 
made  whereby  those  who  do  the  most  work 
satisfactorily  are  advanced  to  take  the  place  of 


PLANS  FOR   INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION 


73 


5 

6 

15 

16 

25 

26 

4 

7 

14 

17 

24 

27 

3 

8 

13 

18 

23 

28 

2 

9 

12 

19 

22 

29 

1 

10 

11 

20 

21 

30 

0 

others  who  fall  behind.  No  pupil  likes  to  yield 
up  his  seat,  and  the  result  is  that  the  class  is 
always  working  at  its  highest  efficiency.  The 
plan  also  enables  the  teacher  to  see  at  a  glance 
what  students  are  making  poor  progress,  and  he  is 
in  a  position  to  investigate  the  cause  and  apply 
the  remedy. 

A  day  or  two  after  the  class  has  been  started 
this  plan  can  be  put  into  operation,  and  a 
Tentative  tentative  grading  of  the  pupils  is  made. 
Arrange-  No  harm  is  done  if  a  student  is  mis- 
placed, for  the  proper  adjustment  will 
be  made  automatically  in  a  few  days.  Some 
teachers  prefer  to  wait  until  they  have  had  a 
chance  to  estimate  the  ability  of  the  various 
members  of  the  class,  and  to  decide  the  matter 
by  the  standing  in  the  first  examination.  As 

6— (499) 


74 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 


soon  as  the  grading  is  completed  each  member 
of  the  class  is  given  two  note-books  which  they 
are  to  use  alternately,  doing  one  exercise  in  the 
first,  the  next  in  the  second,  the  third  in  the  first, 
and  so  on.  These  note-books  are  then  numbered 
one  and  two,  and  if  they  have  not  page  numbers  on 
them,  they  are  paged.  On  the  inside  cover  of 
each  appears  an  index  in  which  the  student  enters 
the  work  he  does  as  soon  as  each  step  is  finished. 


Exercise. 

Page. 

Date 
Checked. 

Date 
Approved. 

1 

3 

1/2/13 

1/3/13 

3 

5 

1/2/13 

1/3/13 

5 

8 

1/3/13 

7 

12 

NOTE-BOOK   INDEX. 

This  index  tells  the  teacher  at  a  glance  just  what 
the  student  has  done.  It  shows  that  exercises 

No.  1  and  3  have  been  written,  cor- 
Index.  rected,  practised  satisfactorily,  and 

approved  by  the  instructor.  It  shows 
that  exercise  No.  5  has  been  written,  and  corrected, 


PLANS   FOR   INDIVIDUAL   INSTRUCTION  75 

but  it  has  not  been  practised  or  approved.  It 
also  tells  that  exercise  No.  7  has  been  written, 
but  it  has  not  been  corrected.  Entering  an  exer- 
cise in  the  index  signifies  that  it  is  complete  and 
ready  for  correction.  The  date  in  the  next 
column  means  that  the  exercise  has  been  corrected 
by  some  one  else  and  that  it  has  been  practised. 
An  entry  in  the  last  column  indicates  that  the 
teacher  has  found  the  work  satisfactory  in  every 
respect. 

A  few  simple  suggestions  are  all  that  is  necessary 
now  to  set  the  plan  in  motion  : 

1.  All   exercises   should   be   corrected   by  the 
student  immediately  in  advance  of  the  one  who 

does  the  exercise.    The  teacher  corrects 
Suggestions. 

the    exercise    of   the    most    advanced 

scholar,  and  of  those  who  are  most  backward. 

2.  All  exercises  should  be  done  in  ink ;  corrections 
in  lead  pencil  or  red  ink. 

3.  When  an  exercise  is  given  in  shorthand  in  the 
text,   both   longhand   and   shorthand   should  be 
written   by   student ;     when   the   exercise   is   in 
longhand  in  the  text,  only  the  shorthand  should 
be  written. 

4.  A  few  lines  for  later  practice  after  the  exercise 
is  corrected  should  be  left  blank  between  each 
line  of  writing. 

5.  The  name  of  student  who  corrects  exercise 
should  appear  at  the  bottom  of  last  page  with 
the  date. 

6.  Practice  on  each  exercise  should  be  finished 


76  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

before  the  following  exercise  may  be  offered  for 
correction. 

7.  Correction  of  the  next  student's  work  takes 
precedence  over  one's  own  progress  work. 

8.  Students  are  penalized  for  the  errors  they 
fail  to  check. 

If  these  suggestions  are  carried  out  the  operation 
of  the  class  will  be  automatic,  and  the  teacher  will 
find  himself  able  to  give  attention  to 
Students"1  those  who  need  it  most.  In  every  case 
there  will  be  found  one  or  two  students 
who  need  practically  no  help  whatever,  and  who 
can  progress  twice  as  fast  as  others  who  have  not 
the  same  time  to  give  to  the  subject,  or  the  same 
interest  in  it.  Such  students  will  quickly  be  found 
under  this  plan  of  work,  and  their  ability  may  be 
turned  towards  helping  the  others.  The  grading 
for  a  while  will  naturally  be  in  groups,  and  the 
teacher  will  experience  some  busy  sessions  trying 
to  inspect  and  approve  all  the  work  that  is  done 
in  the  first  flush  of  enthusiasm,  but  if  he  keeps  the 
standard  of  work  high,  and  makes  his  inspection 
carefully,  the  student  who  sacrifices  quality  of  the 
work  to  speed  in  progressing  through  the  book 
will  come  a  cropper.  Gradually  the  work  will 
become  more  diversified  until  hardly  two  are  at 
the  same  place,  but  until  this  happens  the  teacher 
will  have  to  work  with  the  groups,  using  a  leader 
in  each,  whose  exercise  is  corrected  by  the 
instructor  or  by  the  leader  of  the  next  higher 
group. 


PLANS  FOR   INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION  77 

The  students  are  able  to  correct  each  other's 

exercise  because  the  one  they  are  asked  to  correct 

has  been  corrected  for  them  by  some  one 

Correct tO  e*Se'  an(^  ^ey  Can  Use  t^S  3tS  a  m°del 
just  the  same  as  a  key.  The  correc- 
tions pass  from  the  teacher  to  the  leader  or  leaders, 
and  then  on  down  to  the  various  members  of  the 
class  as  soon  as  they  are  ready  for  them.  Each 
one  has  a  corrected  copy  of  each  exercise  done  as 
far  as  he  has  completed  the  work.  Thus,  if  student 
A  wishes  to  have  exercise  29  corrected,  he  passes 
it  to  student  B,  who  has  already  had  exercise  29 
corrected  and  who  has  practised  it  over.  Student 
B  can  then  take  his  book,  if  necessary,  and  proceed 
to  correct. 

By  having  the  exercises  done  in  ink  and  the 
corrections  on  them  made  in  pencil,  the  teacher 
is  enabled  to  tell  at  a  glance  from  the  number  of 
mistakes  whether  the  student  has  obtained  a 
satisfactory  knowledge  of  the  principle  or  not, 
and  to  give  him  the  needed  explanation. 

The  suggestion  compelling  the  student  to  prac- 
tise his  work  before  submitting  the  next  exercise 
for  correction  is  made  to  protect  the 

Suggestions  one  w^°  ^s  to  correct  *"s  work,  for  one 
student  could  do  enough  work  over 
night  to  keep  the  next  student  busy  correcting 
this  work  and  doing  nothing  else.  But  under  this 
arrangement  as  soon  as  an  exercise  is  corrected 
it  must  be  filled  in,  and  while  this  is  being  done 
the  other  student  can  be  busy  on  his  own  book 


78  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

making  up  for  the  time  he  used  in  correcting.  As 
soon  as  a  student  progresses  beyond  the  one  in 
front,  they  exchange  places.  The  rule  about  the 
correction  of  the  lower  student's  work  taking 
precedence  over  the  higher  student's  progress 
work  is  necessary  to  protect  the  lower  student 
from  being  blocked  by  the  refusal  of  the  higher 
to  correct  his  work.  The  lower  student  should 
receive  the  greater  consideration.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  co-operation  is  the  basic 
principle  of  this  plan,  and  if  the  teacher  does  not 
see  that  this  co-operation  is  given,  the  plan  is  sure 
to  fail. 

It  is  necessary  to  penalize  students  for  failure 
to  do  conscientious  checking  of  the  exercises 
because  they  sometimes  try  to  hurry 
Carekss  through  and  get  at  their  own  work  ; 
but  if  they  are  held  up  by  an  error 
which  they  allow  to  escape  unchecked  and  it  is 
found  by  the  teacher,  they  are  likely  to  be  more 
careful.  There  is  no  excuse  for  careless  checking 
of  exercises  because  each  one  has  his  own  cor- 
rected note-book  to  which  to  refer.  A  tactful 
teacher  can  impose  such  penalties  as  will  be  taken 
in  good  psrt  by  the  pupils,  penalties  that  are 
regarded  as  part  of  the  game. 

While  the  class  is  thus  absorbed  in  automatically 
progressing,  the  teacher  uses  his  time  first  in  making 
an  inspection  of  the  books,  secondly  in  checking 
up  the  work  done  by  those  in  the  lower  end  of 
the  class.  As  soon  as  the  lesson  starts,  those  who 


PLANS   FOR  INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION  79 

wish  to  have  work  approved  put   one  of   their 
books  on  the  teacher's  desk  retaining  the  other  to 

work  in  or  to  correct  from.  The 
Work  teacher  runs  his  eye  down  the  page  and 

if  no  errors  are  found  in  the  exercise,  he 
stamps  it  with  a  rubber  stamp  "  Approved."  He 
finds  which  exercises  are  to  be  approved  by  consult- 
ing the  index.  The  books  are  then  returned  to  the 
student  and  the  date  of  approval  is  entered  in 
the  index  right  away.  If  the  other  book  is 
to  be  approved  it  is  then  handed  in.  If  the 
teacher  finds  an  error  in  the  exercise,  he  looks 
at  the  bottom  of  the  last  page  where  he  will 
find  the  name  of  the  one  who  corrected  it  and  an 
explanation  should  then  be  forthcoming  from  that 
person. 

Of  course  it  is  possible  always  for  the  teacher 
to  modify  the  program,  and  at  times  he  may  decide 

to  have  a  discussion  on  some  principle 
cations  which  he  has  observed  has  given 

difficulty  ;  or  he  may  conduct  a  special 
drill  on  any  phase  of  the  work  which  needs  it. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  plan  of  instruction 
should  be  supplemented  by  frequent  tests,  and  it 
will  readily  be  seen  that  those  who  do  the  practice 
work  most  thoughtfully  are  the  ones  who  do  the 
best  in  the  test. 

Each  of  these  plans  of  individual  instruction  has 
certain  things  in  common  ;  all  enable  the  teacher 
to  get  at  the  difficulties  of  the  individual  student, 
but  they  differ  in  the  amount  of  work  that  is 


80  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

left  to  the  student.  The  business  school  plan 
has  the  advantage  of  the  personal  contact  of 
student  and  teacher,  and  the  benefit  of  the  close 
supervision  of  work  that  is  made.pos- 

sible-  but  {i  is  limited  to  very sma11 

groups.  The  unit  method  is  characterized 
by  the  sound  idea  of  doing  one  thing  well  before 
attempting  another  ;  it  makes  the  student  search 
out  his  errors  for  himself,  and  it  may  be  used  to 
handle  a  much  larger  group  than  the  first  method. 
The  co-operative  method  rests  upon  the  assumption 
that  the  students  have  been  taught  how  to  study, 
for  if  such  is  not  the  case  the  work  will  become  so 
confused  by  the  number  of  mistakes  that  the  plan 
becomes  hopeless.  Its  success  rests  also  upon  the 
spirit  of  co-operation  the  teacher  is  enabled  to 
develop  in  the  students.  The  class  can  appre- 
ciate the  advantage  of  the  scheme  in  that  it  allows 
the  student  to  go  along  as  fast  as  his  ability  and 
the  time  at  his  disposal  will  permit.  Care  must 
be  taken,  however,  that  those  who  are  not  able  to 
get  into  the  front  ranks  of  the  class  do  not  become 
the  butt  of  ridicule  for  those  who  are  further 
advanced.  An  altogether  different  spirit  must 
prevail ;  one  in  which  each  feels  a  sort  of  responsi- 
bility for  every  member  of  the  class  accomplishing 
the  work  scheduled  for  the  term.  If  the  instructor 
is  successful  in  inspiring  his  class  with  the  proper 
spirit,  there  are  few  school  exercises  that  possess 
greater  educational  value  than  this  co-operative 
plan. 


PLANS  FOR   INDIVIDUAL  INSTRUCTION  81 

The  worth  of  any  plan  of  individual  instruction 
may  be  judged  by  ascertaining  in  what  proportion 
Criteria  for  **  embodies  the  following  condi- 
Judging  tions,  which  may  be  used  as  criteria. 
Plans.  Individual  instruction  should : 

1.  Enable  the  teacher  to  give  help  when  needed 
to  each  individual  scholar.     This  signifies  that  the 
work  must  be  so  arranged  that  the  student  will 
not  be  helpless  until  the  teacher  becomes  dis- 
engaged.    The  value  of  the  assistance  is  increased 
when  it  is  given  just  when  needed,  and  it  should 
be  possible  for  the  teacher  to  utilize  others  who 
can  assist  those  who  need  help.     He  should  have 
plenty  of  reserve  force  of  this  kind. 

2.  Render  it  possible  for  the  teacher  to  give  the 
greatest  help  to  those  who  need  it  the  most.     In 
the  organization  of  his  plan  a  teacher  might  have 
it  so  arranged  that  the  work  done  by  the  most 
advanced  would  require  his  attention  for  a  great 
length  of  time  and  more  frequently  than  the  work 
done  by  the  least  advanced.    This  would  serve 
to  defeat  one  of    the  most    important    aims  of 
individual  instruction. 

3.  Keep  all  the   pupils   busy  all  the  time  on 
some  profitable  work.    This  indicates  that  there 
should  be  a  strong  incentive  for  diligent  applica- 
tion, and  that  tasks  which  are  set  must  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  knowledge  and  ability  of  those 
who  are  expected  to  perform  them. 

4.  Eliminate  selfishness  which  is  so  likely  to 


82     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

develop  under  an  individual  plan.  Its  successful 
operation  should  not  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  vicious  tendencies  but  rather  stimulate 
the  formation  of  ideas  of  co-operation  and 
helpfulness. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ESSENTIALS  OF  SHORTHAND  SPEED 

THAT  teaching  which  lacks  definiteness  of  purpose 
lacks  that  which  is  most  vital  in  its  success.  If 
a  method  of  procedure  is  adopted  and  used  without 
examining  into  its  availability  for  the  production 
of  the  result  it  is  desired  to  attain,  it  is  much  like 
the  oft-bespoken  "  arrow  in  the  air."  It  may  hit, 
but  the  chances  of  its  missing  the  mark  are  too 
great  to  justify  the  plan.  It  is  necessary  that  the 
results  of  instruction  must  be  clearly  formulated 
in  the  mind  before  deciding  upon  any  special 
device  or  mode  of  procedure  ;  that  which  may  be 
utterly  inadequate  and  devoid  of  value  when 
viewed  from  one  standpoint,  may  be  fully  justified 
from  another.  In  considering  the  problem  of 
raising  the  shorthand  speed  of  a  class,  then,  it  is 
necessary  first  to  find  out  what  the  essentials  of 
shorthand  speed  are,  and  then  outline  the  method 
of  instruction  including  in  it  only  those  things 
that  will  definitely  serve  to  develop  such 
essentials. 

Stenographic  speed  is  the  development  of  skill 
which  is  based  upon  several  elements.  The 
Ascertain-  teacher  °f  a  speed  class  must  know 
ing  Basic  what  these  elements  are  because  they 
Elements.  are  the  tm-ngs  ^e  must  persistently 

emphasize  in  the  instruction.    Two  ways  are  open 
83 


84  METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

to  the  teacher  in  search  of  such  knowledge  :  sub- 
jective and  objective  experience.  That  is,  he  may 
discover  what  they  are  by  self-analysis,  and  this 
means  that  he  must  have  had  the  experience  ;  he 
must  have  gone  through  the  grind  of  raising  his 
own  speed  ;  he  must  have  met  the  difficulties  and 
overcome  them  before  he  can  suggest  to  his  students 
how  to  do  it.  And  he  may  have  recourse  to  the 
experience  of  others  who  have  triumphed  in  the 
battle.  There  is  abundance  of  such  material  from 
writers  who  have  arrived  at  the  goal  of  high  speed, 
and  who  have  described  the  steps  they  have  taken 
and  the  obstacles  they  have  encountered  on  their 
journey. 

Objective  experience,  the  story  of  how  others 
have  done  it,  is  valuable,  but  the  subjective 
experience  should  be  in  the  equipment 
of  all.  However,  it  is  not  given  to  all 
men  to  be  keenly  self -analytical,  and  he  will  be 
acting  wisely  who  supplements  his  subjective 
experience  with  the  experience  of  others.  Mis- 
calculations may  occur  in  either,  and  one  should 
serve  to  check  the  other. 

The  development  of  stenographic  speed  rests, 
for  one  thing,  on  correct  habits  of  writing.  A 
Correct  certain  degree  of  manual  dexterity 
Writing  must  be  developed,  and  pen-gripping, 
Habits.  heavy-handed,  finger-cramping  pen- 
manship makes  the  work  many  times  harder  than 
it  would  otherwise  be.  The  relation  of  penmanship 
to  speed  varies  in  importance  with  different  systems 


ESSENTIALS  OF  SHORTHAND   SPEED  85 

of  shorthand  but  it  is  a  factor  in  all.  The  teacher 
of  shorthand  meets  many  different  types  of  in- 
correct writing  habits,  and  fortunate,  indeed,  is  the 
teacher  of  a  speed  class  who  finds  that  the  proper 
holding  of  the  pen  or  pencil  has  been  made  a  part 
of  the  elementary  instruction  in  shorthand.  Such 
penmanship  weaknesses  are  generally  lost  sight  of 
in  the  early  days  of  instruction,  but  they  stand  out 
glaringly  as  soon  as  the  student  is  put  under 
pressure,  and  that  is  probably  the  reason  why  it 
usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  speed  class  teacher 
to  correct  them.  Students  should  be  started  right 
from  the  beginning  of  the  course,  and  their  training 
in  correct  habits  of  writing  should  be  progressive. 
The  different  types  are  known  to  all :  there  is  the 
one  who  grips  his  pen,  as  David  Wolfe  Brown 
says,  "  like  as  if  some  one  was  going  to  take  it 
away  from  him  "  ;  there  is  the  one  who  writes 
with  a  pen  and  the  finished  product  looks  like  as 
if  a  brush  had  been  used,  the  same  one  who  always 
breaks  the  point  of  a  pencil,  or  sticks  the  pen  in  the 
paper  ;  there  is  the  one  who  lifts  his  hand  and 
hovers  over  the  paper  until  ready  for  descent  when 
he  darts  down  like  a  bird  on  its  prey ;  and  there 
is  the  one  who  gets  to  the  end  of  the  line  and 
draws  back  his  hand  to  the  beginning  so  slowly 
that  it  seems  he  is  going  to  discontinue  writing 
altogether.  There  are  other  types,  and  one  of  the 
first  things  the  teacher  should  do  is  to  make  known 
to  the  student,  who  may  be  unaware  of  his  fault, 
the  existence  of  such  a  handicap. 


86  METHODS   OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

The  first  step  in  getting  up  speed  is  to  write 
with  comfort.  This  does  not  mean  the  absence 
Eliminate  °*  stram  due  *°  writing  a  little  above 
Physical  one's  capacity,  but  it  means  the  absence 
strain.  Q^  stram  ^ue  to  uncomfortable  physical 

surroundings.  Strains  that  are  due  to  the  absence 
of  light,  heat,  air,  and  space  should  be  eliminated. 
It  not  infrequently  happens  that  a  student  does 
not  succeed  in  getting  down  the  dictation  and  is 
at  a  loss  to  understand  the  cause.  It  is  easily 
discoverable  when  it  is  seen  that  he  has  his  books 
strewn  all  over  the  desk,  and  he  is  attempting  to 
write  in  a  space  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  paper, 
and  that  his  hand  has  no  adequate  support.  It 
is  true  that  under  abnormal  conditions  stenographic 
work  must  be  done  in  this  way,  but  no  one  has 
ever  advocated  the  practice  for  working  up  speed. 
The  teacher  will  do  well  to  see  that  each  pupil  is 
comfortable  when  writing,  and  that  faulty  habits 
of  penmanship  are  corrected.  The  hand  should 
glide  along  the  paper  smoothly,  with  a  light  touch 
and  with  even  transitions  between  words,  not 
jerkily  ;  and  each  pen  lift  should  not  be  a  hand  lift. 
This  writing  difficulty  may  not  appear  with  every 
student,  most  likely  will  appear  with  only  a  few; 
but  the  teacher  must  be  in  a  position  to  remedy 
the  fault  as  soon  as  it  appears.  In  some  systems 
of  shorthand  the  publishers  issue  regular  penman- 
ship drills,  of  which  the  teacher  can  avail  himself 
for  the  benefit  of  these  few  ;  in  other  cases  it  will 
be  well  for  him  to  make  up  his  own  drills. 


ESSENTIALS  OF  SHORTHAND   SPEED  87 

The  second  element  in  working  up  speed  in 
shorthand  is  the  thorough  knowledge  of  the  system 
written.     One  who  has  worked  through 

the  first  elementary  instruction  book 
does  not  fit  this  description  ;  but  the 
one  who  has  studied  each  principle  over  and  over, 
individually  and  in  relation  to  the  whole  system, 
the  one  who,  after  having  a  struggle  with  an  out- 
line, takes  the  trouble  in  his  leisure  moments  to 
look  for  the  controlling  principle  in  his  instruction 
book.  Such  a  one  is  likely  to  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  system  he  writes.  Such  a  one 
is  likely  to  appreciate  somewhat  fully  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  various  expedients  in  the  system, 
and  when  he  is  not  progressing  with  sufficient 
rapidity,  he  will  not  begin  to  invent  new  abbre- 
viating devices  that  violate  principles  and  lead  to 
eventual  confusion. 

Like  most  other  things,  there  is  a  time  for 

initiating  outlines,  but  the  time  for  it  is  when  one 

has  fully  mastered  the  system,  and  has 

f\r*      "1 

Outlines  exhausted  its  possibilities.  Any  of 
the  systems  in  general  use  are  capable 
of  a  speed  much  higher  than  the  student  rate  of 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  words 
per  minute,  and  variations  of  them  which  seek  to 
introduce  a  cumbersome  system  of  abbreviating 
devices  which  may  secure  a  temporary  gain  in 
speed  should  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  A 
well-known  court  reporter  made  the  statement 
not  long  ago  that  "  in  working  out  the  details  of 


88     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

a  shorthand  system,  the  author  enjoys  an  advan- 
tage that  is  not  possible  to  the  ordinary  writer. 
It  is  the  opportunity  for  research,  and  his  work 
embodies  the  experience  of,  perhaps,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  writers,  who  have  put  it  to  the  test 
of  actual  working  conditions.  You  can  accept 
his  conclusions  with  absolute  faith  in  their  practi- 
cality and  in  their  soundness."  This  is  a  strong 
statement,  but  for  the  "  ordinary  writer  "  it  holds 
true.  Too  often  the  outline  given  in  the  text  or 
dictionary  is  discarded  and  one  chosen,  which 
further  experience  shows  is  impracticable.  Im- 
provisation of  outline  is  not  here  condemned,  but 
it  should  be  done  only  when  the  one  who  attempts 
it  is  qualified  by  knowledge  and  experience  to  do 
it.  Let  not  the  aspirant  for  speed,  therefore, 
dismiss  certain  parts  of  the  theory  with  the  abrupt 
statement  "  that  is  not  important ;  it  is  seldom 
used."  He  cannot  tell  but  in  his  later  experience 
it  might  answer  the  very  need  that  tempts  him  to 
improvise.  Let  him  get  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  system.  Another  element  entering  into 
the  acquisition  of  speed  is  the  power  to  apply 
readily  any  principle  of  the  system  when  con- 
fronted with  an  unusual  word.  Knowledge  of  the 
theory  of  shorthand  and  the  ability  to  make  instant 
application  of  the  theory  in  practice  are  two  very 
different  things.  No  matter  how  glibly  a  student 
may  recite  the  rules  of  the  text,  no  matter  how 
ready  he  is  with  the  illustrative  words  that  gene- 
rally accompany  such  rules,  he  has  not  prepared 


ESSENTIALS   OF   SHORTHAND    SPEED  89 

himself  for  speed  work  until  he  can  apply  without 
hesitation  every  rule  that  he  knows.  It  is  this 
ability  that  enables  the  writer  to  keep  going  no 
matter  how  hard  the  words  become. 

At  the  outset  it  is  necessary  to  admit  that  the 
system  or  course  which  does  not  equip  the  student 

Eliminating  to  write  everv  word  in  the  ^guag6 
Mental  fails  in  a  very  important  particular. 
Hesitancy,  ^  student  must  be  equippe<i  to 

record  every  word,  no  matter  how  seldom  its  use. 
Hesitation  is  detrimental  to  speed,  and  there  are 
only  two  ways  in  which  the  mental  hesitancy  can 
be  overcome  or  diminished  to  the  minimum  :  either 
by  the  ready  application  of  the  word-building 
principles,  or  by  rote  memorization.  The  teacher 
has  to  choose  between  them,  and  when  the  magni- 
tude of  the  task  of  memorization  is  realized,  it  is 
quickly  abandoned  ;  but  the  difficulty  is  that  it 
may  not  be  appreciated  soon  enough,  and  that  the 
power  to  apply  the  principles  will  have  been 
neglected  until  it  is  too  late  in  the  course  to  change. 
This  difficulty  is  thoroughly  treated  in  David 
Wolfe  Brown's  Mastery  of  Shorthand. 

The  next  element  to  be  considered  in  regard  to 
shorthand  speed  is  the  cultivation  by  the  student 
Word-  °*  word-carrying  capacity.  There  is 
Carrying  constant  necessity  of  writing  under 
Capacity.  pressure  during  the  speed  course,  that 
is,  when  the  writer  has  to  put  forth  every  effort 
to  get  the  dictation  down  verbatim,  and  during 
this  trial  the  writer  is  always  a  few  words  behind 

7— (499) 


90     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

the  dictator.  In  the  beginning  of  their  practice 
some  students  immediately  get  confused  as  soon 
as  the  dictator  gets  a  few  words  ahead,  and  they 
lose  sentences  at  a  time.  They  have  not  the  poise 
and  confidence  which  comes  from  the  ability  to 
carry  in  the  mind  the  part  of  the  selection  which 
has  been  read  but  not  yet  written.  There  is  a 
certain  amount  of  distributive  attention  necessary 
to  do  this  successfully.  While  the  dictation  is  going 
along  at  an  easy  pace,  the  writing  is  done  with  the 
attention  distributed  on  the  execution  of  the 
characters  and  the  context.  As  soon  as  the  speed 
rises  the  attention  must  be  redistributed,  and  a 
new  element  enters,  that  of  carrying  the  words 
which  are  neither  being  written  nor  heard.  This 
word-carrying  ability  may  be  developed  by  those 
who  do  not  possess  it,  and  drill  upon  it  through 
memorizing  and  repeating  long  sentences  is 
recommended  by  many  qualified  to  speak  on  the 
subject.  S.  S.  Packard  was  a  firm  believer  in  the 
efficacy  of  such  drill. 

Mental  hesitation  is  not  altogether  eliminated, 
however,   when   the   ability  to   apply   the   rules 

readily  and  the  power  to  carry  words 
Vocabulary.   .  ' 

in    the    mind    have    been    developed. 

Another  cause  of  hesitation  and  indecision  in 
writing  is  that  of  a  too  limited  vocabulary.  It 
has  been  said  many  times  "  words  are  the  steno- 
grapher's stock-in-trade,"  and  the  truth  of  the 
quotation  may  be  seen  daily  in  the  class-room,  both 
in  the  transcripts  prepared  and  in  the  ludicrous 


ESSENTIALS  OF  SHORTHAND   SPEED  91 

errors  that  appear  in  the  shorthand.  The  steno- 
grapher has  need  of  a  large  vocabulary  both  in 
longhand  and  in  shorthand.  It  is  not  infrequent 
for  the  writer  who  has  no  acquaintance  with  a 
word  to  put  in  syllables  that  never  appear  in  it 
but  which  seem  to  be  heard  ;  this  arises  from 
ignorance,  for  if  the  word  were  known,  the  ear 
would  catch  it  easily,  and  a  reference  to  the 
context  would  determine  by  its  appropriateness 
whether  that  was  the  word  heard  or  not.  Then 
in  the  deciphering  of  outlines  how  many 
egregious  blunders  are  attributable  to  ignorance 
of  the  word  used  ?  The  student  who  possesses 
a  good  knowledge  of  English  is  favored  with 
one  of  the  biggest  advantages  in  the  stenographic 
race. 

Side  by  side  with  a  command  of  a  great  number 
of  English  words  should  come  the  ever-increasing 
Steno-  control  of  a  great  number  of  steno- 
graphic graphic  outlines.  A  word  can  be 
Vocabulary.  wrjtten  automatically  much  quicker 
than  it  can  when  it  is  necessary  to  apply  the  princi- 
ples of  word-building  to  it,  and  as  the  student 
progresses  through  the  course,  one  of  the  best 
indications  of  his  success  is  the  infrequency  with 
which  a  word  is  met  that  he  cannot  write  off-hand  ; 
the  number  of  stenographic  word-friends  should 
always  be  on  the  increase  until  he  must  go  afield 
to  meet  a  word-stranger.  In  working  up  the  speed 
of  a  class  it  is  the  problem  of  the  teacher  to  see 
how  he  can  weave  the  building  of  the  vocabulary 


92     METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

into  the  daily  work  so  that  each  day  adds  its  niitr 
until  it  has  become  mighty. 

No    one   has   ever   contended    that    repetition 
practice  has  not  its  place  in  the  plan  for  raising 

shorthand  speed.     But  much  discussion 
Repetition.  . 

has  been  had  upon  the  emphasis  to  be 

placed  upon  it  and  the  amount  of  its  use.  Some 
teachers  rely  almost  wholly  upon  repetition  practice 
to  raise  speed.  They  maintain  that  it  trains  the 
eye,  hand,  and  memory  ;  enlarges  the  vocabulary 
both  in  longhand  and  in  shorthand  ;  develops 
manual  dexterity,  and  that  the  great  number  of 
words  which  it  reduces  to  automatic  control 
renders  it  possible  to  halt  while  a  difficult  word  is 
studied  out.  Those  who  condemn  repetition 
practice  seldom  do  so  unreservedly.  They  claim 
it  should  not  be  made  the  sum  of  all  preparation, 
but  that  it  is  a  minor  part  of  it.  When  it  is  made 
the  basis  of  the  work,  it  brings  about  an  artificial 
condition  in  that  the  student  never  becomes 
accustomed  to  meeting  stenographic  word  obstacles, 
and  that  he  is  "  floored  "  as  soon  as  one  rises  in 
his  path.  It  is  further  urged  that  repetition  is 
unnecessary  since  the  bulk  of  all  matter  is  much 
the  same  and  repetition  is  secured  in  this  way. 
One  writer  discussing  the  topic  naively  suggests l 
that  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  a  school  would  require 
less  teachers  with  the  repetition  plan  because  the 
students  can  be  kept  busy  copying  over  and  over 
again  while  the  teacher  is  otherwise  employed. 
i  Walworth,  Shorthand  and  Typewriter  News,  Vol.  1 ,  No.  6, 


ESSENTIALS  OF   SHORTHAND   SPEED  93 

Like  most  conflicting  views,  there  are  kernels 
of  truth  in  each.  It  needs  no  close  examination 
to  show  that  the  two  views  are  traceable  to  one 
of  the  elements  already  discussed  in  this  chapter 
the  ready  application  of  the  principles.  Those 
who  have  insisted  upon  this  point  from  the  begin- 
ning will  find  use  for  a  limited  amount  of  repetition, 
but  will  present  new  matter  with  which  to  give 
the  pupil  power.  Those  who  have  not  developed 
this  ready  application  of  the  word-building  princi- 
ples have  to  resort  to  rote  memorization  in  its 
extreme  form,  and  repetition  is  the  keystone  of 
this  system. 

If  we  apply  the  principle  enunciated  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  that  the  method  must  be  judged  in 

the  light  of  the  end  to  be  obtained,  a 
Essentials  . 

of  Repeti-     solution  of  the  dimculty  is  apparent. 

tjon  .  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  repetition 

Practice.  J  .        : ; 

does  many  of  the  things  claimed  for  it ; 

but  repetition  may  be  wasteful  as  well  as  helpful. 
To  be  helpful  it  should  be  regular,  systematic,  and 
attentive.  When  repetition  is  characterized  by 
these  qualities  it  may  be  used  to  develop  form  and 
accuracy  in  execution  ;  it  will  increase  the  vocabu- 
lary, and  it  will  give  manual  dexterity.  Then 
when  the  teacher  wishes  to  obtain  these  ends,  by 
all  means  let  him  use  repetition  practice.  When 
he  wishes  to  give  practice  on  the  application  of 
word-building  principles,  or  test  out  the  vocabu- 
lary, or  obtain  a  transcript  let  him  use  new  matter. 
The  lesson  that  tries  to  do  all  of  these  things  to  the 


94  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

same  extent  is  likely  to  be  as  effective  as  the  efforts 
of  the  "  Jack-of-all-trades."  Do  one  thing  at  a 
time,  and  do  that  well.  Find  out  the  result  to  be 
obtained  and  then  take  the  means  that  will  most 
efficiently  produce  the  result.  Repetition  practice 
should  never  be  discontinued,  but  the  use  of  it 
will  vary  in  proportion  to  its  utility  in  producing 
the  result  we  desire.  There  cannot  be  the  slightest 
doubt  but  that  both  repetition  practice  and  new 
matter  must  be  considered  in  getting  up  speed, 
and  the  number  of  those  who  rely  almost  wholly 
on  repetition  work  is  rapidly  decreasing.  Teachers 
are  beginning  to  realize  that  repetition  can  be 
useful  only  for  short  periods  during  which  the  mind 
can  remain  at  full  attention.  Pitman's  Speed 
Tests  and  Guide  to  Rapid  Writing  in  Slwrlhand 
offers  to  ambitious  students  some  very  useful 
hints  on  this  important  subject. 

No  plan  of  developing  speed  in  shorthand  is 
complete  unless  it  utilizes  the  power  to  be  obtained 

from  the  reading  of  shorthand  notes. 
Notes  Extravagant  claims  are  sometimes 

made  in  regard  to  the  benefit  derived 
from  this  practice,  and  it  is  well  to  take  rather  a 
conservative  view  so  as  not  to  miscalculate.  It 
is  sometimes  said  that  the  constant  reading  of 
shorthand  plate  notes  is  the  most  effective  means 
of  raising  speed,  that  rapidity  of  execution  is 
unconsciously  accomplished.  It  is  difficult  to 
see  how  this  can  be  true  for  reading  and  writing 
are  two  essentially  different  operations.  However, 


ESSENTIALS   OF   SHORTHAND   SPEED  95 

it  must  be  admitted  that  the  reading  of  plate 
notes  is  valuable  in  developing  better  execution 
of  characters  ;  that  the  impression  made  on  the 
mind  becomes  so  clear  that  we  unconsciously 
approach  our  mental  exemplar.  It  is  also  true 
that  extensive  reading  of  this  character  is  service- 
able in  developing  the  ability  of  interpreting 
outlines  as  a  whole  in  the  same  way  that  the 
ordinary  person  reads  longhand  ;  that  it  frequently 
results  in  enlarging  the  shorthand  vocabulary  for 
when  difficulty  is  met  in  reading  a  word,  the  form 
of  that  word  is  more  easily  remembered.  "  There 
are  two  different  modes  in  which  knowledge  of 
an  art  may  be  possessed — the  critical  and  the 
practical.  The  former  gives  the  ability  to  under- 
stand and  appreciate  what  has  been  executed  by 
another,  the  latter  the  ability  to  execute  for 
oneself.  The  art  of  reading  Phonography  is  of 
the  former,  that  of  writing  it  of  the  latter  species 
of  knowledge."1 

In  reading  his  own  notes  the  student  brings  his 
stenographic  work  to  successful  fruition,  for  it 
will  avail  him  nothing  to  have  the 
maxiniurn  speed  of  which  a  human 
being  is  capable  if  he  is  unable  to 
decipher  what  has  been  written.  The  lightning 
calculator  who  adds  column  after  column  in  a 
short  space  of  time  finds  no  market  for  his  services 
if  his  work  is  not  accurate  ;  so  with  the  shorthand 
writer.  The  correct  transcription  of  the  notes 

1  Andrews  and  Boyle,  Word  Book,  No.  1,  pp.  8  and  9. 


9C>  METHODS   OF   TEACHING    rllOKTHAND 

is  the  final  act  of  the  speed  writer  that  gives  the 
work  value.  For  this  reason  everything  that  is 
written  should  be  read  ;  the  supposition  that  it 
can  be  read  is  of  no  value,  but  the  actual  reading 
of  it  has  a  distinct  value  no  matter  how  many 
times  the  reading  is  repeated.  The  greatest 
benefit  to  be  derived  from  such  reading  is  the 
knowledge  which  the  student  obtains  of  his 
chronic  errors  of  writing.  Under  the  pressure  of 
speed  distortion  of  notes  is  always  likely  to  occur, 
and  the  more  the  notes  are  read,  the  greater  the 
familiarity  is  obtained  with  these  distortions  and 
the  ability  to  read  them  readily  by  making  allow- 
ance for  a  distortion  that  is  likely  to  occur  is 
acquired.  Of  course,  success  in  reading  poorly 
executed  outlines  might  encourage  the  tendency 
to  write  poorly,  and  this  danger  must  be  guarded 
against. 

In  planning  the  instruction  of  a  speed  class 
account  should  be  taken  of  all  these  essentials  : 
correct  habits  of  writing,  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  system,  ready  application  of  word-building 
principles,  the  word-carrying  capacity,  vocabulary 
in  longhand  and  shorthand,  repetition  practice, 
use  of  new  matter,  and  reading  practice.  When 
the  instruction  is  planned  with  these  things  in 
view  success  is  more  than  half  attained. 


CHAPTER   IX 

SUGGESTIONS   FOR   CONDUCTING   A   SPEED 
CLASS 

IN  outlining  the  work  for  a  speed  class  the  first 
thing  that  the  teacher  must  consider  is  the  amount 
of  time  at  his  disposal  and  its  distribution.  Fifty 
minute  recitation  periods  are  very  commonly  used, 
and  in  this  chapter  the  work  wall  be  outlined  on 
the  basis  of  such  a  period  ;  suitable  allowance  can 
be  made  for  periods  of  different  length.  In  order 
to  describe  a  typical  lesson  it  is  necessary  to 
assume  that  the  routine  factors  have  been  provided 
for  ;  that  a  student  will  look,  after  the  light  and 
ventilation,  another  will  distribute  the  necessary 
paper,  that  another  will  mark  the  attendance, 
another  will  check  the  home-work  after  it  has  been 
handed  to  him  by  the  students  as  they  pass  to  their 
seats,  and  so  on  with  other  routine  matters. 
Such  things  as  light  and  ventilation,  distribution 
of  paper,  should  be  attended  to  before  the  time 
for  the  actual  lesson  to  start,  not  occasioning  a 
second's  delay  but  the  marking  of  the  attendance, 
checking  of  home-work,  etc.,  may  have  to  be  done 
by  the  student  during  that  part  of  the  lesson  that 
he  can  best  afford  to  lose,  for  instance,  during  the 
time  the  class  is  reading  back  the  repetition 
practice.  It  is  further  assumed  that  an  assign- 
ment has  been  made  at  the  previous  recitation, 
97 


98  METHODS   OF   TEACHING    SHORTHAND 

and  that  the  class  has  had  to  prepare  three  letters 
of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  words  each, 
it  being  required  that  they  should  be  able  to  write 
every  word  correctly  without  hesitation,  and  that 
they  write  each  letter  three  times  from  dictation 
as  neatly  and  as  accurately  as  possible. 

The    teacher's    preparation    will    consist    of    a 
selection   of   words   taken    from   the   assignment 

which  are  to  be  dictated  to  the  class  to 
Preparation.  test  the  thoroughness  of  preparation  ; 

a  drill  chart  such  as  described  in  Chapter 
IV,  containing  contractions,  or  words  in  previous 
exercises ;  selection  of  new  dictation  material 
which  has  been  written  over  in  shorthand  and  in 
which  the  words  and  phrasing  have  been  noted  ; 
the  corrected  papers  that  have  been  handed  in 
the  previous  day,  and  the  assignment  for  the 
following  day. 

The  teacher  begins  the  lesson  with  the  dictation 
of  the  words  selected  from  the  home-work  to  test 

the  thoroughness  of  the  preparation. 

Test  of         These    words    are    selected    promiscu- 

Preparation 

by  Student,  ously,     sometimes     being     the     most 

unusual,  sometimes  the  usual,  some- 
times contractions  ;  for  if  any  plan  of  selection  is 
adhered  to,  the  class  will  soon  find  it  out  and  then 
preparation  will  concentrate  on  one  part  and 
neglect  the  others.  The  ability  of  the  student  to 
write  every  word  accurately  and  correctly  indicates 
thoughtful  preparation  ;  failure  to  do  so  indicates 
unsatisfactory  preparation  and  further  work  should 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR   A   SPEED  CLASS  99 

be  done,  a  good  plan  being  that  those  who  fail 
receive  their  papers  back,  write  out  the  outlines, 
all  that  were  dictated,  several  times,  say  ten,  and 
hand  in  this  paper  the  next  day  as  part  of  the 
next  day's  preparation.  As  soon  as  the  words  are 
written,  the  teacher  has  the  papers  collected  and 
they  are  corrected  out  of  class,  each  one  that  is  per- 
fect being  stamped  "  Approved,"  and  each  failure 
simply  checked  and  returned.  The  next  day  these 
papers  are  given  back  to  the  students  after  the 
pupil  who  has  charge  of  the  test  records  has  made 
the  proper  entry.  The  following  day  the  unsatis- 
factory papers  must  be  re-written  and  handed  to 
the  teacher,  who  stamps  them  and  hands  them 
to  the  recorder.  This  method  enables  the  teacher 
to  tell  at  the  end  of  a  certain  period  just  how  many 
times  each  pupil  failed  during  the  time  satis- 
factorily to  prepare  the  work.  Avoidance  of  the 
additional  work  given  for  failure  acts  as  an 
incentive  to  doing  the  work  thoughtfully,  and  it 
also  serves  to  impress  the  words  of  the  lesson  on 
the  minds  of  the  pupils  and  to  build  for  them  a 
vocabulary,  which  needs  only  supplementary 
drill  to  strengthen  it.  The  dictation  of  these 
words  and  the  collection  of  papers  should  not 
consume  more  than  two  minutes. 

The  next  step  in  the  lesson  is  the  drill  work. 
Whatever  material  is  chosen  for  drill  is  put  on  a 

drill  chart  and  dictated  to  the  class, 
Drill.  .  ,  ,.  x 

every  time  changing  the  order  of  dicta- 
tion and  increasing  the  speed.  The  words  or 


100          METHODS   OF   TEACHING    SHORTHAND 

phrases  are  then  read  back  by  the  various  members 
of  the  class,  and  the  reading  can  be  checked  from 
the  chart  or  from  the  copy  of  some  other  member 
of  the  class.  Five  minutes  should  be  long  enough 
to  do  effective  work  on  twenty-five  or  thirty 
words. 

From  the  drill  work  the  class  passes  to  repetition 

practice.  Here  a  selection  of  material 
Repetition.  ,  r%*_._u, 

must  also  be  made.     Straight  matter, 

commercial  letters,  etc.,  may  be  used.  Some 
teachers  use  the  same  selection  daily  for 
repetition  until  a  required  speed  is  obtained 
by  most  of  the  class  and  then  they  take  another 
selection.  Others  use  the  prepared  work  for 
repetition  practice.  The  use  of  the  daily 
prepared  work  is  the  more  serviceable  because 
it  contains  a  greater  vocabulary,  greater  variety  of 
phrasing,  and  is  less  likely  to  be  memorized. 

The  dictation  of  the  first  part  of  the  repetition 
work  should  be  given  by  members  of  the  class. 

This  enables  the  teacher  to  go  about 
Dictators  *ke  room  looking  at  the  work  of  those 

who  need  his  help,  advising  them,  and 
where  necessary  giving  a  demonstration.  In  this 
way  faulty  habits  of  writing  may  be  corrected, 
the  teacher  sees  how  effectively  a  vocabulary  is 
being  built,  for  if  a  selection  that  was  prepared 
two  or  three  days  ago  is  read  and  the  student  under 
observation  writes  most  of  the  words  incorrectly, 
it  is  a  certain  indication  that  those  words  have 
not  been  mastered  and  that  more  seriousness  has 


SUGGESTIONS    FOR   A    SPEED   CLASS  101 

to  be  put  into  the  work.  The  teacher  can  also 
judge  of  the  word-carrying  capacity  of  the  different 
students,  and  where  necessary,  he  can  give  practice 
in  this  line  by  stopping  the  pupil's  writing  until 
the  dictator  gets  a  few  words  ahead  and  then 
telling  the  students  to  catch  up.  Of  course,  this 
could  not  be  done  with  one  who  did  not  find  the 
speed  of  writing  within  his  power.  Through  the 
opportunity  for  observation  which  this  student 
dictation  gives  the  teacher,  he  is  enabled  to  come 
closer  to  the  individual  problems  of  the  student 
and  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  improvement 
made  through  the  remedy  he  suggests.  It  is  not 
possible  for  any  teacher  to  read,  keep  track  of  the 
time,  and  try  to  observe  the  writing  of  the  class 
at  the  same  time. 

In  order  that  the  students  may  be  able  to  read, 
it  may  be  necessary  to  use  a  metronome.     Every 

member  of  the  class  can  learn  to  read 
Metronome.      .......  ,  •          r,        ,*  •  , 

with  this  machine  after  five  minutes 

demonstration  and  then  the  teacher  has  thirty 
substitute  dictators  at  his  disposal.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  to  read  a  word  at  every  tick  of  the 
machine,  and  after  a  little  practice  the  ability  to 
phrase  may  be  acquired.  To  train  every  member 
of  a  class  to  read  at  a  certain  rate  of  speed  or  rather 
at  different  rates  of  speed,  would  require  consider- 
able time,  and  then  the  speed  could  be  changed 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  others.  With  the 
metronome,  the  speed  cannot  be  changed  once 
the  time  is  set. 


102         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

There  is  another  advantage  in  having  student 
dictators.  It  is  the  best  corrective  tor  slovenly 

habits  of  speech  that  can  be  employed. 
Effect  of  Let  the  pupil  whose  enunciation  is 
onCStudent'scare^ess  attempt  to  read  a  selection, 
English.  and  he  will  very  soon  discover  that  his 

reading  cannot  be  understood,  and  he 
becomes  conscious  of  his  errors  of  speech.  If  the 
student  wishes  to  be  understood  it  is  necessary  to 
attend  carefully  to  his  reading,  and  since  the 
pressure  comes  from  the  class,  and  is  the  result  of 
a  natural  emergency,  the  student  is  so  much  the 
more  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  using  care 
in  his  manner  of  speech. 

The  second  part  of  the  repetition  dictation 
should  be  given  by  the  teacher  without  the  metro- 
nome. In  this  part  the  class  has  the  benefit  of 
clear  enunciation,  distinct  pronunciation,  correct 
phrasing,  and  the  impetus  that  comes  from  the 
voice  of  the  trained  dictator.  The  entire  time 
devoted  to  repetition  practice  should  not  be  more 
than  fifteen  minutes. 

When  the  dictation  of  new  matter  is  taken  up, 
the  problem  of  adapting  the  speed  to  the  greater 

number  in  the  class  arises.  As  long  as 
Adapting  class  instruction  continues,  and  as  long 
Dictation  as  individual  human  differences  exist, 
to  Class.  there  will  be  in  the  same  speed  class 

those  who  find  no  difficulty  in  taking 
with  ease  the  dictation  that  others  find  to  the 
limit  of  their  capacity.  It  may  be  that  more 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR   A  SPEED  CLASS  103 

flexible  promotions  may  obviate  this  difficulty,  but 
until  some  means  of  overcoming  it  is  provided,  the 
teacher  must  continue  to  struggle  with  it.  To 
keep  the  speed  suitable  for  the  upper  half  of  the 
class,  and  to  tell  the  others  to  keep  on  trying  to 
get  as  much  as  possible  is  very  discouraging  to 
those  whose  efforts  are  not  rewarded.  Likewise 
to  keep  the  speed  down  to  the  ability  of  the  slower 
half,  exhorting  the  others  to  perfect  their  execution, 
does  not  produce  results  after  the  first  three  or 
four  trials.  It  is  probable  that  most  of  the 
dictation  should  be  fairly  within  the  power  of 
the  slower  writers,  and  occasional  dictation  should 
be  given  to  draw  out  all  the  power  of  the  faster 
ones. 

After  a  letter  or  a  selection  has  been  dictated, 
it  should  be  read  back  by  the  class  as  called  upon 

by  the  teacher,  each  reader  being 
Discussion  accredited  with  his  success  or  failure 

as  will  be  explained  later.  When  the 
reading  is  finished,  the  class  may  raise  questions 
about  stenographic  outlines,  and  useful  discussions 
may  be  held.  However,  care  should  be  taken  that 
such  discussions  should  not  be  too  prolonged  as 
they  take  too  much  time  from  the  dictation  and 
reading.  Extended  discussions  of  outlines  are  out 
of  place  in  a  speed  room,  the  advantages  or  dis- 
advantages should  be  summed  up  quickly  and  a 
decision  reached.  If  the  principles  have  been 
well  learned,  the  mere  reference  to  a  certain 
controlling  principle  is  probably  all  that  will  be 


104         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

required.  All  outlines  requested  should  be  placed 
on  the  board  by  the  teacher  and  copied  down  by 
the  pupils,  preferably  in  a  vocabulary  book.  This 
affords  the  class  the  opportunity  for  correction  or 
verification  of  outline. 

In  all  of  the  dictation  work  in  class  there  should 
be  a  strong  incentive  to  put  forth  the  maximum 
Incentive  to  er^ort-  The  usual  stimulus  in  such 
Continued  a  class  is  that  of  emulation  ;  one  pupil 
tries  to  get  the  dictation  and  to  read 
it  as  well  or  better  than  another.  Then  there  is 
praise  for  efficient  work,  and  the  feeling  of  satis- 
faction after  surmounting  a  difficulty.  The 
teacher  should  make  use  of  all  of  these,  but  there 
is  another  stimulus  that  is  effective.  In  the 
rating  which  the  pupil  receives  on  his  work  his 
success  or  failure  should  be  considered.  Every 
time  that  he  reads  satisfactorily,  it  indicates  that 
he  has  written  it  all,  and  better  still,  that  he  can 
read  it ;  in  other  words  he  has  done  satisfactorily 
a  stenographic  unit  of  work.  A  record  of  this 
should  be  kept,  and  he  can  be  advised  of  his 
standing.  This  record  also  serves  to  prevent  the 
excessive  calling  upon  one  student  or  group  of 
students  ;  the  reading  is  distributed  as  it  should 
be.  This  does  not  mean  that  pupils  must  be 
called  upon  in  turn,  or  alphabetically,  but  that 
every  one  gets  his  chance,  and  he  tries  to  make  the 
most  of  it.  Attention  at  all  times  is  necessary 
for  loss  of  the  place  is  penalized  the  same  as 
inability  to  get  the  dictation, 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR   A   SPEED   CLASS  105 

In  the  repetition  matter,  most  of  what  is  dic- 
tated should  be  read.  When  the  teacher  dictates, 
it  is  well  for  him  to  change  the  wording 
Notes ' '  here  an<^  there  ^  &  keeps  the  students 
on  edge  to  get  the  changed  version. 
Opportunity  is  afforded  for  deciphering  notes 
made  at  the  highest  speed  of  which  the  student 
is  capable  in  the  repetition  practice ;  and  in  the 
new  matter,  notes  which  are  unfamiliar  are  struggled 
with.  However,  it  is  the  practice  of  some  teachers 
to  introduce  another  kind  of  reading  in  their 
classes,  that  of  the  reading  of  "  cold  notes."  This 
can  be  accomplished  by  having  the  dictation 
taken  in  note-books  which  are  dated  on  the  new 
page  at  the  beginning  of  each  lesson.  The  letters 
are  numbered,  and  at  any  time  the  teacher  may 
call  upon  one  of  the  students  to  read  such  and  such 
a  letter  written  on  a  certain  date,  maybe  a  week 
or  a  month  ago.  The  time  taken  for  the  dictation 
of  new  matter  and  the  reading  of  notes  should  not 
consume  ordinarily  more  than  twenty-five  minutes. 

The  next  step  in  the  lesson  is  the  assignment. 
This  may  be  given  in  two  ways  :  The  material 

used  for  new  matter  may  be  used  for 
Assignment.          ,.  .  .  r  «      •        j 

repetition  practice  the  following  day, 

and  it  could  easily  be  prepared ;  or  a  new  selec- 
tion may  be  given.  If  the  first  plan  is  used,  the 
class  has  had  all  the  doubtful  outlines  given  to 
them  after  making  their  own  trial  at  them,  and 
they  can,  therefore,  be  held  responsible'for  knowing 
them.  Should  the  second  plan  be  used  the 

*-<499) 


106          METHODS   OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

outlines  must  be  looked  up  in  the  text  or  dictionary, 
and  the  time  of  preparation  is  by  so  much 
prolonged. 

Taking  speed  dictation  on  the  blackboard  has 

a  doubtful  advantage.     It  takes  the  student  out 

of  the  normal  condition  under  which 

he  later  ^  have  to  work'  and  the 
same  response  is  never  encouraged  if 

the  conditions  furnishing  the  stimulus  are  changed. 
In  the  speed  class  most  of  the  board  work  should 
be  done  by  the  teacher.  It  may  be  used  at  times 
to  stimulate  the  interest  of  the  more  advanced 
pupils,  but  for  those  who  are  trying  their  best  to 
get  the  dictation  on  the  paper,  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  much  advantage.  Occasionally  it  is  in- 
spirational for  the  teacher  or  an  advanced  writer 
to  "  take  "  the  selection  on  the  board,  but  on  the 
whole,  there  is  not  much  benefit  derived. 

It  will  be  seen  in  this  lesson  that  all  the  elements 
of  the  recitation  are  present  :    the  initial  test  of 

words  and  the  repetition  matter  being 
ReCdSti?n°f  the  reproduction,  the  factor  of  drill 

following,  the  instruction  of  new  out- 
lines and  the  discussion  being  given  in  the  new 
matter,  and  the  assignment  made.  It  will  also  be 
noted  that  most  of  the  elements  of  speed  are  pro- 
vided for.  By  the  opportunity  to  observe  the 
pupils  while  one  is  reading,  the  teacher  is  in  a 
position  to  look  after  careful  execution  of  outlines 
and  the  formation  of  correct  writing  habits,  to 
develop  word  carrying  capacity,  to  see  to  effective 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR   A   SPEED   CLASS  107 

vocabulary  building.  In  the  presentation  of  new 
shorthand  forms,  the  knowledge  of  the  theory  is 
kept  fresh  in  mind,  and  the  ready  application  of 
it  is  necessary. 

The  division  of  time  for  the  lesson  will  depend 
more  or  less  upon  the  object  in  view.  For  example, 
if  it  were  a  lesson  at  the  beginning  of  the  speed 
work  when  much  attention  is  required  to  writing 
habits,  the  repetition  practice  might  be  greatly 
extended  with  profit.  And  so  with  the  other 
elements.  All  that  is  needed  to  produce  results  is 
a  definite  object  and  the  sensible  use  of  the  means 
by  which  it  can  be  attained. 


CHAPTER  X 

TESTS  AND  EXAMINATIONS 

THOUGH  there  may  exist  some  division  of  opinion 

as  to  the  educational  practicability  of  tests,  it  is 

generally  conceded  that  they  are  neces- 

fwTests  sarv  m  *ke  scneme  of  teaching  as  it  is 
at  the  present  day.  When  the  subject 
of  shorthand  is  considered,  it  is  not  only  necessary 
to  make  this  admission  but  it  is  necessary  to 
maintain  that  they  are  of  vital  importance. 
There  is  always  one  advantage  of  tests  that  is 
claimed  for  them  in  every  subject ;  they  require 
that  concentrated  attention  and  study  that 
frequently  makes  the  difference  between  knowing 
and  not  knowing  a  thing,  and  this  is  as  true  with 
a  class  studying  the  principles  of  shorthand  as  it 
is  of  a  class  studying  any  other  subject.  As  an 
educational  device  the  benefit  derived  from  tests 
in  this  way  is  sufficient  to  justify  them.  But 
besides  this,  tests  are  necessary  in  order  that  the 
teacher  may  ascertain  the  effectiveness  of  his 
instruction,  that  the  knowledge  given  in  the  various 
lessons  and  organized  in  the  review  lesson  may  be 
supplemented  and  the  organization  fixed  for  ready 
application,  and  finally,  that  the  pupil  be  given 
the  opportunity  to  make  the  application  of 
knowledge  imparted  to  him. 

In  a  shorthand  theory  test  all  of  these  ends  may 
108 


TESTS  AND  EXAMINATIONS  109 

be  kept  in  view.  The  test  may  serve  to  inform 
the  teacher  and  the  pupil  of  the  progress  made  in 
the  mastery  of  the  principles  or  the  other  elements 
of  the  system  upon  which  instruction  is  given  ; 
if  properly  arranged  the  principles  can  be  viewed 
in  perspective  and  a  better  appreciation  of  the 
principles  can  be  obtained ;  and  unhesitating 
command  of  this  knowledge  must  be  evidenced. 

The  shorthand  test  is  the  only  means  by  which 
the  teacher  can  learn  whether  the  student  really 
knows  the  work  or  not,  for  success  in 
Unreliable!8  ^e  aPphcati°n  of  a  principle  when  it 
is  the  only  one  involved  in  a  word,  or 
when  the  application  of  the  principle  is  indicated 
by  the  appearance  of  the  word  in  a  certain  group, 
does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  applicability 
of  the  principle  would  be  recognized  if  the  examples 
were  presented  promiscuously.  This  is  the  reason 
that  a  general  impression  of  the  student's  ability 
obtained  from  his  exercises  or  from  his  daily  work 
is  very  likely  to  be  at  variance  with  the  result  of  a 
good  test.  Just  as  some  animal  trainers  fool 
themselves  into  an  exaggerated  appraisal  of  animal 
intelligence  when  the  animal  performs  some  trick, 
the  cue  for  which  is  unconsciously  given  by  the 
trainer,  so  the  teacher  and  the  pupil  are  deceived 
into  believing  that  mastery  of  the  principle  is 
obtained  when  in  reality  the  application  is  made 
obvious  by  the  way  in  which  the  problem  is  pre- 
sented. The  test  eliminates  these  things  and 
compels  the  student  to  make  an  independent 


110    METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

application  of  the  principles  which  is  likely  to  be 
reliable  as  a  basis  of  judgment.  "  Unhesitating 
promptitude  of  execution  within  the  domain  of 
the  principle  undertaken  to  be  taught  must,  from 
the  start,  be  the  test  as  to  whether  the  principle 
has  been  mastered,  and  whether  the  student  is 
making  healthy  progress." l  The  healthy  progress 
of  the  student  can  be  ascertained  only  through 
the  test. 

When  a  test  is  given  in  Pitmanic  shorthand  on 
the  initial  or  final  hooks,  the  points  of  similarity 
or  difference  are  brought  out  strongly ;  the  like- 
ness or  contrast  impresses  them  on  the  mind  so 
that  they  take  a  more  definite  form  and  their 
recall  is  facilitated. 

The  mode  of  testing  will  depend  upon  the  nature 
of  the  subject  to  be  tested.  In  shorthand  the 
Mode  of  material  to  be  tested  is  of  two  kinds  : 
Testing  automatic  and  reflective.  By  the 
Determined.  airt-omatjc  material  is  meant  the  gram- 
malogs,  contractions,  and  phrases  which  the 
student  should  be  able  to  reproduce  without 
reflection  from  the  beginning  of  his  course.  By 
the  reflective  material  is  meant,  not  that  unlimited 
time  should  be  given  for  writing  it,  but  that  it 
is  not  necessary  to  write  it  as  quickly  and  with  as 
little  reflection  as  the  grammalogs  or  word-signs. 
The  words  involved  in  the  various  principles  are  of 
this  class.  Since  reflection  indicates  that  the  power 
of  recall  and  reproduction  is  not  instantaneous, 

1  David  W.  Brown,  Mastery  of  Shorthand,  p.  16. 


TESTS   AND   EXAMINATIONS  111 

it  should  gradually  be  eliminated  and  every 
test  in  shorthand  should  be  conducted  under 
a  time  limit,  with  the  time  allowance  growing  less 
and  less.  A  student  who  can  write  the  word-signs 
or  contractions  as  they  are  dictated  to  him  pro- 
miscuously at  the  rate  of  one  every  three  seconds 
and  read  them  back  has  really  mastered  them. 
The  student  who  has  studied  a  principle  and  can 
write  words  involving  the  principle  in  fifteen 
seconds  need  have  no  fear  that  the  foundation  for 
speed  work  is  not  being  well  laid.  Of  course,  if 
this  time  limit  can  be  reduced,  so  much  the 
better. 

A  test  should  involve  all  the  necessary  elements 
of  the  work  upon  which  instruction  has  been  given. 
A11  It  is  a  mistake  to  test  a  class  upon  the 

Necessary  principles  and  neglect  the  word-signs, 
Elements.  for  ^fe  ig  sure  m(jication  to  the  class 

that  the  teacher  does  not  consider  the  word-signs 
important,  and  the  earnest  attention  of  the  student 
to  this  feature  of  the  work  is  lost.  Likewise,  if 
the  phrases  are  neglected,  they  suffer  in  the  amount 
of  practice  and  preparation  given  to  them.  If 
word-signs,  phrases,  and  principles  have  been 
taught,  the  test  should  include  material  from  each 
division.  It  is  the  same  with  a  speed  section. 
Some  teachers  strive  to  accomplish  many  things 
in  the  speed  work,  and  when  they  fail  they  cannot 
account  for  it.  For  instance,  a  teacher  may  be 
trying  to  build  for  the  class  a  stenographic  vocabu- 
lary ;  but  when  the  test  comes,  he  dictates  a  five 


112          METHODS   OF  TEACHING    SHORTHAND 

hundred  word  selection  and  requires  a  transcript. 
The  students  see  no  connection  between  the  work 
done  in  vocabulary  building  and  test,  and  they 
soon  come  to  regard  the  effort  to  build  a  vocabulary 
as  useless,  unimportant  and  perfunctory.  But  let 
them  see  that  the  teacher  considers  it  important, 
that  their  work  is  checked  up,  and  that  it  is  part 
of  the  test,  and  there  is  a  different  spirit  exhibited 
towards  it. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  students  the  tests  sometimes 
seem  to  become  the  end  of  the  instruction  and  they 
Test  from  *ose  a^  sense  °f  the  proper  relationship 
Standpoint  between  the  test  and  the  ultimate  end 
0  p  '  of  instruction,  but  this  danger  is  less 
in  shorthand  than  in  other  subjects  where  parrot- 
like  reproduction  of  ideas  passes  as  knowledge. 
In  shorthand  speed  work,  skill  is  tested,  and  the 
skill  required  in  one  test,  if  adequate,  is  sufficient 
to  meet  the  demands  of  similar  situations.  But 
because  of  the  undue  importance  attached  by  the 
students  to  the  various  tests  to  which  they  are 
subjected,  a  judicious  method  of  marking  the 
papers  is  very  necessary.  An  arbitrary,  unjust 
method  of  rating  may  spoil  the  effect  of  an  other- 
wise good  test,  and  be  extremely  detrimental  to 
the  future  instruction  of  the  class.  The  class  that 
suffers  under  the  arbitrary,  dogmatic  rating  method 
of  the  teacher  who  thinks  his  scheme  of  rating 
concerns  only  himself  and  that  the  pupils  have  no 
right  to  know  how  he  reaches  his  conclusions  is  to 
be  pitied.  There  is  little  incentive  for  conscientious 


TESTS   AND    EXAMINATIONS  113 

work,  and  ignoring  the  policy  of  the  "  square  deal  " 
never  brings  about  harmonious  relations. 

In  rating  the  speed  tests  there  are  several 
standards  that  the  teacher  may  use,  such  as  the 
Rating  rules  for  rating  laid  down  by  the  Civil 
Theory  Service  and  the  Regents  of  the  State 
of  New  York  ;  but  in  the  matter  of  the 
theory  tests,  teachers  must  often  have  faced  a 
difficulty  without  having  any  standard  to  which  to 
refer.  That  difficulty  exists,  for  example,  when 
in  writing  a  word  in  shorthand  the  student  has 
the  correct  consonantal  elements  but  the  wrong 
vowel.  Should  he  be  given  no  credit  for  the  word  ? 
Or  should  the  error  be  overlooked  and  full  credit 
be  given  ?  Or  suppose  a  stroke  should  be  shaded 
and  it  is  made  lightly,  or  a  consonant  should  have 
been  a  short  stroke  when  it  was  made  long,  what 
is  the  teacher  to  do.  Many  elements  enter  into 
the  mistakes  made,  and  to  handle  them  in  some 
systematic  way  requires  no  small  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher.  It  is  apparent  at  the  outset  that 
neither  plan,  that  of  giving  no  credit  or  that  of 
leniently  overlooking  the  error,  is  strictly  correct. 
To  regard  as  wrong  a  word  containing  one  incor- 
rectly written  element  and  two  or  three  correctly 
written  elements  can  be  justified  only  in  one  way : 
that  the  teacher  considers  the  word  a  unit,  and  if 
the  unit  is  not  correct,  none  of  the  work  receives 
credit.  This  method  is  marked  by  severity,  and 
is  inclined  to  be  rather  arbitrary  since  it  establishes 
an  arbitrary  unit  in  the  face  of  existing  real  units. 


114          METHODS   OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

To  be  consistent  it  would  be  proper  to  extend  the 
principle  and  regard  as  incorrect  a  sentence  in 
which  one  word  is  incorrectly  written  ;  or  a  para- 
graph in  which  one  mistake  appears.  The  other 
method  is  marked  by  leniency  and  serves  to 
encourage  carelessness. 

However,   there  is  an  intermediate  course  in 
which  values  are  assigned  to  the  various  elements 

entering  into  the  operation.  After 
v2u3fonsf.  the  writer  had  read  to  the  New  York 

Conference  of  Evening  High  School 
Teachers  of  Shorthand  a  paper  on  "  Measuring 
Results  in  Shorthand,"  Mr.  John  G.  Dunbar,  of 
the  Brooklyn  Evening  High  School  for  Men, 
brought  in  the  following  scheme  for  rating  papers. 
In  rating  words  no  credit  was  given  if  the  outline 
was  incorrect,  that  is,  if  all  the  consonants  were 
not  correct.  If  the  consonantal  outline,  the 
position  of  the  word,  and  the  accented  vowel  were 
correct,  full  credit  was  given  ;  if  the  outline  was 
correct  and  the  position  or  the  accented  vowel  was 
wrong,  one-third  of  the  credit  would  be  deducted. 
It  can  be  seen  that  even  this  elaborate  valuation 
of  elements  does  not  do  full  justice.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  is  no  necessity  for  expressing  the 
ability  or  power  of  a  student  in  percentages,  or  in 
literal  denominations.  All  that  is  necessary  is 
that  the  student  know  his  shortcomings  ;  that  he 
should  know  definitely  and  specifically  the  cause 
of  failure  so  that  a  direct,  effective  remedy  is 
applicable.  Grading  may  appeal  to  the  spirit  of 


TESTS  AND  EXAMINATIONS  115 

emulation  in  a  class  and  lead  the  student  to  try 
to  outdo  another  student,  but  the  best  kind  of 
emulation  is  that  which  stimulates  the  student  to 
try  to  do  better  than  his  own  previous  efforts. 
The  plan  for  measuring  results  explained  in  the 
next  chapter  can  be  used  for  this  purpose. 

In  rating  speed  tests  there  are  three  plans  which 
offer  suggestions  :  the  plan  used  by  the  Municipal 
Rating  of  Civil  Service,  that  used  by  the  Regents, 
Speed  Tests,  and  that  used  by  the  Federal  Civil 
Civil  Service.  In  all  Municipal  Civil  Service 

Service.  tests  there  are  three  dictations  given 
at  different  rates  of  speed,  and  the  candidate  is 
allowed  to  choose  the  one  he  desires  to  submit  for 
rating.  If  he  submits  the  lowest  dictation,  he  is 
credited  with  a  speed  rating  of  70  per  cent.  ;  if 
the  second  is  chosen,  he  receives  85  per  cent., 
and  if  he  takes  the  highest  speed,  he  is  given  100 
per  cent.  The  mark  given  the  candidate  for  speed 
is  then  combined  with  that  given  for  accuracy, 
the  former  counting  one  credit,  and  the  latter 
counting  two  credits,  and  the  average  is  the  final 
rating.  Thus,  if  a  candidate  received  a  speed 
rating  of  85  per  cent.,  having  taken  the  second 
highest  speed  dictation,  and  his  accuracy  rating 
was  70  per  cent.,  his  final  mark  would  be  85  plus 
70,  plus  70,  or  225  credits  divided  by  three,  giving 
an  average  of  75  per  cent.  The  accuracy  mark, 
it  will  be  noted,  is  added  in  twice  because 
it  is  accorded  twice  as  much  weight  as  the 
speed. 


1  16    METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

The  plan  of  marking  for  accuracy  is  outlined 
by  one  of  the  examiners  as  follows  :  "  Trifling 
errors  are  dealt  with  leniently ;  but  serious  mis- 
takes, considerable  omissions,  or  versions  that 
make  nonsense,  get  heavy  demerits.  Every  paper 
is  carefully  gone  over  by  two  examiners,  and  the 
average  of  their  marks  makes  a  final  rating.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  just  what  deductions  are  made 
for  certain  errors  because  the  demerits  depend 
upon  the  nature  of  the  errors  made  and  upon  the 
seriousness  of  the  error,  but  the  demerits  for 
omissions  bear  a  due  relation  to  the  ratings 
accorded  the  different  speed  tests.  Suppose  the 
dictation  consists  of  600  words.  Four  minutes 
would  be  necessary  in  which  to  take  that  down  at 
150  words  a  minute,  but  if  the  dictation  were 
given  at  165  words  a  minute  he  would  have 
eighteen  seconds  to  spare  and  fifty  words  can  be 
written  in  eighteen  seconds,  so  that  if  he  dropped 
fifty  words  from  the  second  dictation  without 
spoiling  the  sense  of  the  matter,  his  second  dicta- 
tion would  be  as  good  as  the  first,  and  if  his  omis- 
sions were  fewer  the  second  dictation  would  be 
the  better.  The  difficulty  lies  in  dropping  out 
fifty  words  from  600  and  still  make  correct  sense, 
and  this  is  where  the  candidate  must  exercise  his 
judgment  before  making  a  selection.  He  would 
be  safer  under  such  circumstances  to  submit  the 
lower  and  correct  test,  but,  if,  instead  of  fifty 
words  he  had  dropped  but  thirty,  and  still  did  not 
spoil  the  sense,  then  the  second  test  might  merit 


TESTS  AND   EXAMINATIONS  117 

the    higher    rating    for    speed.    The    same    rule 
applies  to  the  third  and  highest  test." l 

The  Regents  of  the  State  of  New  York  offer 
only  one  dictation  in  each  grade  of  examination. 

For  Grade  I,  they  offer  a  dictation  at 
Regents.  ...  , 

fifty  words  per  minute  for  ten  minutes 

to  be  transcribed  in  one  hour,  although  ninety 
minutes  were  allowed  in  June,  1913.  In  Grade  II, 
500  words  are  dictated  in  five  minutes,  and  the 
time  for  transcription  is  the  same  as  that  in  Grade 
I.  The  directions  for  rating  papers  arc  much 
more  definite  than  those  of  the  Civil  Service. 
They  deal  specifically  with  each  type  of  the  more 
common  errors.  The  plan  of  rating  follows : 
Deduct  one  credit  for  each. 

(a)  Omitted  word. 

(6)  Added  word. 

(c)  Substituted  word. 

(d)  Transposition. 

(c)  Use  of  plural  for  singular,  or  vice  versa, 
where  the  sense  is  changed. 

(/)  Use  of  longhand  in  notes. 
Deduct  one-half  credit  for  each  error  in 

(a)  Capitalization. 

(b)  Punctuation. 

(c)  Division  of  words. 

(d)  Repeated  words. 

(e)  Spelling. 

(/)  Omitting  hyphen. 

1  James  T.  Conway,  Assistant  Chief  Examiner,  New 
York  Civil  Service  Commission,  Stenographer,  Feb.,  1912. 


118          METHODS   OF   TEACHING    SHORTHAND 

(g)  Unauthorized  abbreviations. 
(h)  Use  of  singular  for  plural,  or  vice  versa, 
when  sense  is  not  changed. 
From  one  to  five  credits  may  be  deducted  for  any 
error  not  mentioned  above,  lack  of  neatness,  etc. 
In  February,  1913,  it  was  proposed  to  change 
the   plan    of   rating   Regents   papers,  and   State 
Inspector     of     Business     Education, 
Chlngetd     Wallace  E-  Bartholomew,  sent  the  pro- 
posed changes  to  the  teachers  through- 
out the  State  to  get  their  opinions  upon  them.     It 
was  proposed  to  introduce  two  dictation  tests  for 
examination  for  credit  in  Grade  II,  an  80-word 
test,  in  which  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  75  per  cent, 
as  a  passing  mark,  and  the  usual  100  word  test, 
in  which  the  passing  mark  is  60  per  cent.    The 
transcript  for  the  latter  was  to  be  rated  as  outlined 
above.     For  rating  the  80- word  test,  the  following 
was  suggested  : 

1.  The  transcript  will  be  rated  on  the  basis  of 
100  per  cent,   for  accuracy  by  the  schedule  or 
rating  now  in  force,  papers  falling  below  75  per 
cent,  to  be  rejected. 

2.  The  final  mark  of  an  accepted  paper  will  be 
determined  by  the  average  of  the  mark  obtained 
for  accuracy  with  an  arbitrary  mark  of  70  per  cent, 
given  for  the  rate  of  speed  ;    e.g.,  a  paper  rated 
at  90  per  cent,  for  accuracy  would  receive  a  final 
mark  of  one-half  of  75  plus  90  per  cent.,  or  82i  prr 
cent. 

1  Shorthand  and   Typewriter  News,   Feb.,    1913. 


TESTS   AND   EXAMINATIONS  119 

The  Federal  Civil  Service  uses  a  scheme  of  rating 

similar  to  that  used  by  the  Regents,  but  it  seems 

Federal         *°  ^e  a  little  more  severe  :  70  per  cent. 

Civil  is  required  as  a  passing  mark.     The 

plan  is  as  follows  : 

Three  credits  are  deducted  for  each  word 
omitted,  added,  substituted,  or  misspelled,  or  for 
the  use  of  the  singular  instead  of  the  plural,  or 
vice  versa,  when  the  grammatical  correctness  is 
affected. 

Two  credits  are  deducted  for  each  transposition. 

One  credit  is  taken  away  for  each  gross  error  in 
capitalization  or  punctuation  ;  for  each  error  in 
division  of  words  ;  for  each  repeated  word  ;  for 
each  failure  to  use  the  hyphen  when  required  ; 
for  each  abbreviation  ;  or  for  the  use  of  the  plural 
for  the  singular,  or  vice  versa,  when  the  grammatical 
correctness  is  not  affected. 

For  interlineations,  erasures,  and  lack  of  neat- 
ness, from  one  to  five  credits  may  be  deducted. 
In  this  examination  speed  in  writing  the  notes  is 
weighted  equally  with  accuracy  in  transcribing 
them,  and  the  marks  credited  for  the  different 
speeds  are  :  70  per  cent,  when  the  dictation  is  at 
the  rate  of  eighty  words  per  minute,  80  per  cent, 
for  100  words,  90  per  cent,  for  120  words,  and 
100  per  cent,  for  140  words. 

These  three  standards  of  rating  are  given  here 
so  that  the  teacher  may  know  what  method  of 
rating  is  used  by  each  of  these  three  boards  whose 
business  it  is  to  rate  thousands  of  such  papers, 


120         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

and  whose  experience  has  been  ample  enough  to 
enable  them  to  develop  the  most  efficient  schemes  ; 
so  that  he  may  outline  a  plan  of  his  own,  and  also 
that  he  may  adopt  the  plan  for  testing  those  who 
desire  to  take  examinations  with  these  various 
boards. 

In  general,  the  test  should  include  every 
important  element  of  instruction  ;  it  should  not 
only  enable  the  teacher  to  find  out  what  the  pupil 
knows  or  does  not  know,  but  it  should  serve  to 
organize  the  knowledge  and  require  ready  applica- 
tion of  it.  The  test  should  be  conducted  in  a  way 
that  will  show  whether  the  student  has  learned 
the  things  in  the  way  in  which  they  should  be 
learned.  For  example,  a  test  on  word-signs  in 
which  a  half  or  a  quarter  of  a  minute  is  given  for 
writing  each  would  not  be  satisfactory  because 
they  should  be  written  almost  instantaneously, 
therefore  they  should  be  tested  in  this  way. 

There  should  be  a  judicious  plan  for  rating  the 
tests,  and  this  involves  a  recognition  of  the  varying 
Influence  importance  of  the  different  elements 
on  Daily  entering  into  the  test,  an  appraisal  of 
Work.  fa&  value  of  the  units  of  operation,  and 
most  important  of  all,  the  plan  should  serve  to 
bring  about  more  efficient  classroom  work.  The 
student  who  finds  his  daily  recitation  counting 
definitely  for  or  against  him  in  the  final  rating  is 
likely  to  put  forth  more  consistent  and  earnest 
effort  than  the  one  who  merely  practises  daily  so 
that  he  may  do  well  in  the  test  when  it  comes. 


TESTS  AND   EXAMINATIONS  121 

The  one  who  finds  his  ability  to  read  his  notes 
taken  account  of  every  time  he  is  given  the  oppor- 
tunity has  an  incentive  not  only  to  get  the  notes 
all  down,  but  to  get  them  down  accurately  enough 
to  read  them  back  readily.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
tests  and  examinations  may  become  very  valuable 
as  an  aid  in  the  instruction. 


9— (499) 


CHAPTER  XI 

MEASURING  RESULTS  IN   SHORTHAND 

PROBABLY  no  movement  in  education  is  more 
encouraging  than  the  insistence  of  educational 
authorities  upon  reducing  the  results  of  teaching 
to  accurate  measurement.  While  much  remains 
to  be  done  in  this  direction  before  adequate  scales 
of  measurement  are  established  for  every  branch 
of  instruction,  yet  a  beginning  has  been  made, 
and  in  view  of  the  work  done  by  Thorndike,  Rice, 
Courtis,  Stone,  and  others,  it  would  be  rash  to 
maintain  that  results  in  education  are  not  subject 
to  measurement.  Subjects  that  demand  the 
development  of  skill  should  be  easily  susceptible 
of  accurate  measurement,  and  as  shorthand  is  in 
this  class,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  out- 
line a  plan  by  which  the  results  of  shorthand 
instruction  may  be  judged. 

As  the  plan  for  measuring  the  progress  of  a 

speed  class  is  simpler  than  that  for  measuring  the 

mastery  of  the  theory,  it  will  probably 

What  Plan  be  ^^  to  ^ns^er  the  former  first. 
Does. 

Through  the  application  of  this  plan 

it  will  be  possible  (1)  to  determine  accurately  the 
increase  in  the  power  of  the  student  to  take  the 
dictation  and  to  furnish  an  accurate  transcript, 
and  (2)  to  find  the  specific  weakness  of  the 
individual  student  so  that  a  definite  plan  for 
improvement  may  be  suggested. 
122 


MEASURING   RESULTS   IN   SHORTHAND         123 

When  a  student  receives  a  mark  of  75  per  cent., 

it  has  no  definite  signification  to  him  other  than 

that    his    transcript    had    a    sufficient 

Percentages  number  of  errors  to  justify  a  deduction 
Unsatis- 
factory,        of  25  per  cent.,  and  when  his  paper  is 

given  back  to  him,  he  is  probably 
satisfied  with  the  cursory  glance  at  it  to  discover 
the  nature  of  his  errors,  if  he  looks  at  it  at  all. 
Another  student  receiving  75  per  cent,  may  differ 
from  the  first  in  ability,  but  the  mark  given  for 
the  test  does  not  reveal  this  difference.  And 
when  the  first  student  receives  80  per  cent,  in  the 
next  test,  it  indicates  to  him  only  that  he  succeeded 
5  per  cent,  better  than  the  last  time,  or  that  he 
managed  to  transcribe  five  more  words  ;  it  may 
also  signify  that  his  orthography  has  improved, 
or  that  his  shorthand  speed  increased  so  that  he 
was  able  to  get  it  all  down,  or  that  he  was  more 
successful  in  deciphering  his  notes,  and  so  on. 
The  mark  shows  him  nothing  definite,  and  after 
the  teacher  has  corrected  and  marked  thirty  papers, 
it  is  a  safe  guess  to  say  that  his  knowledge  of  the 
individual  progress  of  the  class  is  somewhat  hazy. 
His  recommendations  to  the  class  are  likely  to  be 
about  as  sensible  as  those  of  the  teacher  who  sets 
three  or  four  problems  in  interest  to  a  student 
and  judges  that  what  is  needed,  when  the  wrong 
answers  are  presented,  is  a  more  thorough  study 
of  the  principles  of  interest,  when  an  analysis 
of  the  work  would  show  that  the  errors  were  made 
in  addition,  or  multiplication. 


124         METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

This  plan  of  measurement  is  fundamentally  the 
same  as  all  other  plans.  The  procedure  includes 
two  things  :  the  determination  of  the 
units  mvolved  in  tne  operation,  and 
the  classification  of  the  errors  according 
to  type.  In  taking  a  speed  test  the  student  is  not 
only  required  to  get  it  all  down  in  shorthand  but 
also  to  transcribe  every  outline  correctly,  and  it 
is  in  the  transcription,  which  is  the  ultimate  end 
of  the  work,  that  most  of  the  units  of  operation  are 
found.  In  transcribing,  the  student  is  under 
obligation  to  write  a  word  in  longhand  for  every 
outline  in  shorthand,  to  avoid  substituting  one 
word  for  another,  to  spell  correctly,  to  paragraph, 
to  punctuate,  and  capitalize  properly.  This  is  what 
is  meant  by  the  units  of  operation.  In  making  the 
scale  for  measurement  the  teacher  may  take  all 
the  units  into  account,  or  he  may  take  only  a  few 
of  the  more  important  units  such  as  omissions, 
substitutions,  misspellings,  etc.  The  scale  used 
by  the  writer  contained  the  following  :  Omissions, 
additions,  substitutions,  not  transcribed,  mis- 
spelled, capitalizations,  paragraphing,  transposi- 
tions, and  punctuation.  All  errors  in  the  transcript 
were  traced  and  classified,  the  result  showing 
without  the  semblance  of  a  doubt,  the  strength  or 
weakness  of  the  individual  pupil.  On  page  125  is 
given  a  summary  of  the  first  formal  dictation  test 
given  to  a  class  of  thirty-one,  the  rate  of  speed 
being  forty-three  words  per  minute  for  five  minutes, 
the  students  being  represented  by  letters,  and  the 


MEASURING    RESULTS    IN    SHORTHAND         125 


STUDENT. 

Omissions. 

Additions. 

M 

3 

1 
M 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed. 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

1 

A 

35 

i 

10 

2 

48 

B 

8 

2 

6 

6 

i 

6 

2 

31 

C 

i 

I 

4 

i 

2 

i 

i 

II 

D 

I 

i 

2 

E 

48 

I 

25 

3 

i 

4 

82 

F 

2 

I 

4 

7 

2 

8 

24 

G 

31 

3 

4 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

48 

H 

8 

5 

83 

2 

3 

IOI 

I 

36 

i 

8 

I 

2 

48 

J 

10 

26 

I 

2 

39 

K 

13 

2 

15 

9 

I 

4 

44 

L 

4 

2 

12 

I 

19 

M 

ii 

I 

'4 

i 

6 

3 

36 

N 

55 

10 

2 

2 

ii 

80 

o 

32 

16 

i 

5 

I 

3 

58 

P 

75 

4 

84 

Q 

4 

2 

5 

2 

5 

18 

R 

3 

3 

5 

ii 

S 

27 

3 

12 

3 

5 

I 

5i 

T 

30 

7 

4 

2 

43 

U 

15 

13 

34 

8 

I 

2 

6 

79 

V 

Abs 

ent 

W 

i 

5 

2 

8 

X 

i 

2 

3 

Y 

i 

2 

8 

i 

12 

Z 

30 

10 

3 

6 

49 

AA 

9 

I 

10 

BB 

12 

i 

6 

9 

I 

I 

3 

i 

34 

CC 

33 

2 

28 

I 

2 

3 

4 

3 

76 

DD 

ii 

3 

2 

3 

2 

2 

23 

EE 

14 

4 

4 

9 

3t 

TOTAL 

549 

31 

247 

5 

184 

52 

18 

88 

29 

1,203 

Test  No.  i,  Feb.  27th,  1913. 
43  words  per  minute  for  five  minutes. 


126         METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

numbers  indicating  the  errors  of  each  kind  in 
accordance  with  the  column  in  which  they  are 
placed.  As  there  are  more  than  twenty-six  in  the 
class  it  is  necessary  to  represent  the  excess  members 
by  double  letters  such  as  AA,  BB,  etc. 

From  this  chart  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  the 

principal  difficulty  with  the  class  as  a  whole  was 

inability  to  get  the  notes  on  paper  as 

Results  of    there  were  549  outlines  omitted,  and 

Classifica-  .     .  . 

tion.  the    omissions    were    quite    generally 

distributed  throughout  the  class.  The 
next  type  of  error  which  is  generally  distributed, 
is  that  of  substituting  one  word  for  another, 
reading  the  outline  incorrectly,  and  this  occurred 
247  times.  It  will  be  noted,  also,  that  there  were 
184  outlines  so  written  that  they  were  unintelligible, 
and  the  writers  could  make  no  sense  whatever 
from  them.  All  these  figures  are  significant  to 
teacher  and  pupils  alike.  A  glance  at  the  records 
of  students  A  and  P  will  show  that  their  principal 
weakness  is  inability  to  get  the  notes  down, 
whereas  the  record  of  student  H,  or  that  of  student 
U,  shows  inability  to  read  the  notes  after  they  have 
been  taken  down  ;  it  shows  the  lowest  possible 
ability  in  transcription  because  they  were  unable 
to  decipher  anything  from  them.  In  the  case  of 
students  J  and  M  it  will  be  seen  that  the  weakness 
is  in  reading  one  word  for  another.  Evidently  the 
work  to  be  done  by  students  A  and  P  will  differ 
from  that  to  be  done  by  students  H  and  U  ;  just 
as  the  work  to  be  done  by  H  and  U  will  be  different 


MEASURING  RESULTS  IN  SHORTHAND    127 

from  that  of  students  J  and  M.  In  the  first  case 
speed  in  getting  the  notes  down  is  the  main 
desideratum,  in  the  second  the  power  to  wrestle 
the  meaning  from  the  notes  that  have  been  written 
is  required,  in  the  third  case  more  attentive 
observation  and  greater  intelligence  in  the  selection 
of  the  words  is  demanded.  It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  a  classification  of  errors  in  accordance  with 
this  plan  enables  each  student  to  know  his  personal 
deficiency,  and  the  teacher  is  then  in  a  position  to 
make  remedial  recommendations  that  will  go  directly 
to  the  root  of  the  trouble  and  bring  about  efficiency 
with  the  least  possible  waste  of  time  and  effort. 

It  is  easily  seen  that  if  a  student's  ability  can  be 
assayed  so  definitely  by  this  plan,  all  that  is  neces- 
sary to  measure  his  progress  is  to  give  a  similar 
test  at  a  later  period  and  apply  the  scheme.  If 
his  record  for  omissions  is  better  than  it  was  in 
the  last  test,  he  has  improved.  Likewise,  any 
particular  type  of  error  will  show  improvement  or 
retrogression.  Sometimes  it  will  be  observed  that 
improvement  in  one  respect  will  frequently  bring 
about  a  retrogression  in  another,  as,  for  instance, 
when  a  student  has  to  make  a  great  effort  in  getting 
the  notes  down,  he  may  not  be  able  to  read  them 
because  of  their  poor  form.  However,  this  is  an 
indication  of  improvement  and  need  not  be  a 
discouraging  factor ;  a  little  more  practice  will 
enable  him  to  form  the  notes  without  distortion, 
and  then  he  will  have  regained  his  old  ability  to 
read  them. 


128 


METHODS    OF    TEACHING    SHORTHAND 


STUDENT. 

Omissions. 

Additions. 

Substitutions. 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed. 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

TOTAL. 

A 

8 

10 

2 

3 

i 

i 

25 

B 

2 

2 

3 

I 

3 

i 

2 

i 

15 

C 

I 

i 

D 

I 

3 

I 

5 

E 

26 

15 

8 

5 

7 

4 

i 

66 

F 

3 

i 

I 

5 

G 

H 

3 

I 

18 

H 

ii 

6 

5 

4 

2 

i 

29 

I 

9 

4 

9 

2 

4 

2 

i 

31 

J 

9 

4 

20 

5 

3 

5 

46 

K 

14 

2 

17 

i 

13 

8 

55 

L 

I 

6 

2 

2 

i 

12 

M 

ii 

10 

6 

i 

2 

30 

N 

25 

6 

5 

I 

3 

2 

42 

O 

9 

6 

13 

5 

4 

7 

I 

I 

46 

P 

6 

I 

9 

12 

3 

3 

34 

Q 

i 

4 

6 

3 

i 

i 

2 

18 

R 

I 

ii 

i 

i 

2 

16 

S 

6 

I 

14 

I 

3 

2 

I 

28 

T 

4 

3 

5 

2 

14 

U 

10 

6 

5 

2 

3 

26 

V 

i 

2 

5 

I 

9 

w 

8 

5 

I 

2 

3 

19 

X 

i 

I 

2 

Y 

i 

2 

2 

I 

6 

Z 

5 

I 

14 

2 

I 

2 

25 

AA 

I 

I 

i 

3 

BB 

8 

8 

7 

5 

28 

CC 

4 

3 

ii 

5 

2 

13 

38 

DD 

i 

2 

2 

2 

7 

EE 

3 

2 

7 

2 

2 

16 

TOTAL 

183 

48 

209 

72 

69 

84 

3 

26 

21 

715 

Test  No.  2,  Mar.  I3th,  1913. 
Fifty  words  per  minute  for  five  minutes. 


MEASURING  RESULTS   IN   SHORTHAND         129 

Below  is  given  the  result  of  a  test  taken  by  the 

same  class  of  thirty-one  scholars  after  an  interval 

of   two   weeks.    This   test   was  about 

Second         ^  same  jn  tjie  character  of  material 

dictated,  but  the  speed  was  raised  to 

fifty  words  per  minute.    The  duration  of  the  test, 

as  in  the  last  one,  was  five  minutes. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  in  comparing  this 
chart  with  the  previous  one  that  there  is  improve- 
ment. The  total  number  of  errors 
"'  made  by  the  class  has  been  reduced 
from  1,203  to  715,  the  most  notable  advance  being 
in  speed  of  writing,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  fact 
that  while  in  the  first  table  549  words  were  omitted, 
the  second  record  shows  only  183.  Another 
important  fact  is  that  the  number  of  words  which 
the  class  was  unable  to  transcribe  has  been  reduced 
from  184  to  69  without  an  increase  in  the  sub- 
stituted words.  In  considering  these  figures  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  speed  of  dictation 
was  increased  and  that  there  were  only  30  stu- 
dents in  the  first  test,  student  V  being  absent. 
The  progress  in  the  other  units  of  the  test  can  be 
seen  in  the  same  way  by  a  comparison. 

Looking  at  the  individual  records,  it  is  apparent 
that  student  A,  for  example,  has  improved  since 
the  number  of  errors  made  has  been  reduced  from 
48  to  25,  and  the  improvement  is  noticed  in  that 
particular  point  which  the  first  test  showed  was 
the  weakest,  the  ability  to  get  the  notes  down. 
In  the  second  test  the  number  of  words  omitted 


130    METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

was  reduced  from  35  to  8,  whereas  the  other  errors 
remained  practically  the  same.  In  the  case  of 
student  P,  it  will  be  seen  that  improvement  in 
getting  the  notes  down  has  been  shown,  but  the 
number  of  words  substituted  and  not  transcribed 
has  increased  from  4  and  1  respectively  to  9  and  12. 
This  is  a  natural  tendency,  and  on  the  whole  it 
must  be  counted  a  gain  since  the  reduction  of 
the  omitted  words  from  75  to  6  is  greater  than 
the  increase  in  the  errors  of  substitution  and 
non-transcription . 

In  studying  the  case  of  student  H,  it  would  seem 
that  he  was  suffering  from  fright  or  nervousness 
in  the  first  test  when  his  inability  to  transcribe 
83  words  was  shown.  In  the  second  test  this 
number  has  been  wiped  out  altogether,  every 
outline  that  he  wrote  being  recognizable  as  some 
word.  The  other  errors  remain  much  the 
same.  In  the  case  of  student  U,  improvement  is 
seen  in  the  three  units  of  omissions,  substitutions, 
and  non-transcriptions,  the  first  being  reduced 
from  15  to  10,  the  second  from  13  to  6,  and  the 
third  from  34  to  2.  A  similar  comparison  of 
these  figures  will  tell  whether  there  has  been 
improvement  and  just  how  much  for  each  individual 
scholar. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted  that  this  plan  of 

measuring  results  does  give  definite  information, 

and  has  other  advantages,  but  some 

will  argue  that  the  amount  of  time  it 

would  take  to  get  this  data  and  arrange  it  would 


MEASURING    RESULTS    IN    SHORTHAND        131 


STUDENT. 

Omissions. 

Additions. 

Substitutions. 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed. 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

S 
H 

A 

5 

2 

4 

3 

2 

2 

i 

4 

i 

24 

B 

3 

3 

5 

ii 

C 

4 

2 

4 

4 

3 

17 

D 

2 

I 

i 

4 

E 

44 

3 

8 

5 

4 

3 

67 

F 

3 

3 

2 

3 

ii 

G 

5 

i 

6 

2 

i 

3 

i 

19 

H 

3 

7 

4 

6 

3 

23 

I 

5 

4 

9 

J 

4 

i 

9 

i 

2 

i 

i 

19 

K 

i 

2 

6 

4 

i 

4 

3 

21 

L 

I 

I 

4 

3 

i 

10 

M 

4 

2 

2 

2 

10 

N 

Abs 

ent 

O 

H 

3 

3 

i 

4 

i 

3 

3 

3-2 

P 

i 

2 

i 

i 

2 

7 

Q 

2 

I 

4 

2 

3 

12 

R 

I 

2 

2 

2 

i 

3 

6 

17 

S 

2 

2 

4 

3 

4 

15 

T 

2 

2 

10 

i 

3 

i 

4 

2 

25 

U 

•> 

II 

i 

5 

2 

3 

27 

V 

2 

I 

i 

3 

4 

ii 

w 

J 

2 

I 

6 

X 

I 

I 

2 

I 

2 

4 

ii 

Y 

I 

I 

4 

I 

3 

10 

Z 

2 

I 

5 

2 

2 

2 

M 

AA 

I 

I 

2 

4 

BB 

4 

15 

3 

5 

2 

I 

30 

CC 

3 

17 

3 

5 

4 

32 

DD 

i 

I 

2 

6 

10 

EE 

8 

2 

6 

4 

4 

i 

3 

3 

3i 

TOTAL 

105 

30 

141 

5 



22 

80 

10 

69 

77 

539 

Test  No.  3,  April  4th,  1913. 
Fifty  words  per  minute  for  five   minutes. 


132        METHODS   OF    TEACHING    SHORTHAND 


STUDENT. 

Omissions. 

Additions. 

Substitutions. 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

TOTAL. 

A 

8 

i 

2 

ii 

B 

i 

2 

5 

i 

i 

10 

C 

i 

2 

I 

i 

2 

i 

8 

D 

I 

I 

i 

3 

E 

I 

33 

22 

12 

I 

i 

70 

F 

7 

3 

i 

ii 

G 

3 

I 

5 

2 

2 

i 

14 

H 

I 

5 

I 

i 

8 

I 

i 

I 

i 

2 

I 

6 

J 

2 

I 

7 

5 

4 

i 

20 

K 

I 

ii 

i 

3 

I 

17 

L 

2 

4 

i 

i 

2 

i 

2 

i 

H 

M 

I 

I 

i 

3 

N 

4 

2 

i 

7 

O 

7 

3 

18 

2 

4 

4 

i 

30 

P 

I 

3 

i 

3 

2 

2 

12 

Q 

3 

ii 

10 

5 

29 

R 

i 

4 

3 

I 

9 

S 

4 

4 

4 

I 

2 

15 

T 

3 

9 

I 

I 

4 

4 

5 

3 

30 

U 

Abs 

ent 

V 

i 

I 

6 

i 

9 

W 

5 

I 

I 

7 

X 

4 

4 

Y 

i 

i 

2 

Z 

Abs 

ent 

AA 

2 

2 

4 

BB 

4 

16 

9 

2 

7 

2 

40 

CC 

4 

I 

8 

5 

9 

2 

2 

2 

33 

DD 

5 

2 

7 

EE 

I 

I 

5 

i 

4 

I 

13 

TOTAL 

24 

31 

175 

63 

4 

84 

II 

37 

26 

455 

Test  No.  4,  April  I5th,  1913. 
Fifty   words  per  minute   for   ten   minutes. 


MEASURING    RESULTS    IN    SHORTHAND 


133 


STUDENT. 

1 
'g 
O 

Additions. 

Substitutions. 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed. 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

TOTAL. 

A 

i 

6 

4 

ii 

B 

i 

3 

i 

i 

16 

22 

C 

r 

2 

i 

4 

D 

i 

i 

I 

5 

8 

E 

2 

25 

4 

8 

9 

48 

F 

I 

6 

i 

3 

n 

G 

3 

3 

i 

3 

10 

H 

I 

2 

i 

i 

7 

12 

I 

I 

I 

I 

3 

6 

J 

i 

4 

i 

2 

i 

9 

K 

3 

2 

10 

2 

2 

19 

L 

2 

I 

3 

I 

I 

8 

M 

I 

I 

4 

I 

i 

8 

N 

3 

I 

I 

2 

7 

0 

5 

3 

4 

3 

15 

P 

2 

i 

3 

6 

Q 

6 

I 

7 

R 

I 

3 

2 

5 

i 

12 

S 

3 

I 

i 

2 

7 

T 

I 

5 

I 

i 

4 

12 

U 

2' 

16 

10 

2 

30 

V 

9 

2 

3 

H 

W 

2 

2 

2 

I 

I 

i 

9 

X 

2 

2 

4 

Y 

3 

8 

5 

16 

Z 

3 

10 

13 

AA 

i 

3 

4 

BB 

2 

9 

4 

i 

16 

CC 

6 

2 

2 

2 

12 

DD 

I 

IS 

EE 

I 

5 

I 

I 

5 

13 

TOTAL 

30 

16 

142 

o 

9 

5-5 

21 

97 

o 

374 

Regents  Test,   No.  5,  June  i6th,  1913. 
Fifty   words   per   minute  for   ten   minutes^ 


134         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

be  so  great  that  the  benefits  to  be  obtained  would 
not  justify  the  expenditure  of  it.  However,  there 
is  a  plan  for  simplifying  the  work  so  that  it  will 
not  add  very  much  to  the  time  it  ordinarily  takes 
for  a  teacher  to  correct  and  grade  a  speed  test. 
Instead  of  marking  the  errors  by  means  of  a  check- 
mark or  some  other  sign,  a  set  of  symbols  should 
be  established  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  error, 
and  as  soon  as  a  mistake  is  noticed,  it  should  be 
indicated  with  the  appropriate  symbol.  This 
would  take  no  longer  than  to  place  a  check-mark 
on  the  spot  in  most  cases,  the  only  time  it  would 
retard  the  work  being  where  words  are  omitted 
in  the  transcript ;  then  the  teacher  must  examine 
the  notes  to  tell  whether  they  are  omissions  or 
non-transcriptions.  For  this  reason  it  is  wise  to 
have  the  test  so  arranged  that  the  shorthand  notes 
are  written  down  one-third  of  the  page,  and  the 
transcription  occupies  the  same  line  as  the  short- 
hand notes  taking  up  the  other  two-thirds.  This 
facilitates  reference  to  the  notes.  In  correcting 
themes  the  teachers  of  English  use  a  series  of 
symbols  to  indicate  the  nature  of  errors,  and  the 
plan  can  be  used  with  just  as  great  serviceability 
in  shorthand.  The  following  is  a  suggested  series. 
O — Omissions  S — Substitutions 

A — Additions  T — Transpositions 

N — Not  Transcribed        M — Misspelled 
C — Capitalization  P — Punctuation 

^[ — Paragraphing 
The  three   charts   which   follow   complete   the 


MEASURING  RESULTS  IN  SHORTHAND    135 


progress  record  of  this  class  up  to  the  time  the  Re- 
gents examination  was  given  at  the  end  of  the 
term.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  the  first 
three  charts  the  examination  consisted  of  250  words 
or  less,  but  in  the  last  two  charts,  the  examination 
contained  500  words,  thus  rendering  the  liability 
of  error  greater  by  100  per  cent.  ;  yet  the  errors 
continued  to  diminish. 

The  progress  of  individual  students  becomes 
immediately  apparent  when  the  data  from  each 
examination  is  assembled  on  a  student's  individual 
record  card,  a  reproduction  of  which  is  given  below. 

Feb.  27,  1913 
(Date.) 


(Student's  Name.) 


Sten.  Ill 
(Class.) 


DATE  or 
TEST. 

«   0 

«  - 
f*e 
•ol 

h 

H 

Omissions. 

Additions. 

Substitutions. 

Transpositions. 

Not  Transcribed. 

Misspelled. 

Capitalization. 

Punctuation. 

Paragraphing. 

I 

Feb.  27th,  1913 

43 

5 

35 

1 

10 

2 

48 

March  13th,   1913 

50 

5 

8 

10 

2 

3 

1 

1 

25 

April  4th,  1913   .. 

50 

5 

5 

2 

4 

3 

2 

2 

1 

4 

1 

24 

April  15th,   1913.. 

50 

10 

8 

1 

2 

11 

June  16th,  1913.. 

50 

10 

1 

• 

4 

11 

STUDENT'S  RECORD  OF  PROGRESS. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  record  that  the 
specific  weaknesses  are  found  in  the  first  test,  and 
as  the  record  of  each  succeeding  test  is  added 
improvement  car)  be  seen  at  a  glance. 


CHAPTER  XII 

MEASURING  RESULTS  IN  SHORTHAND 

(continued) 

IN  the  preceding  pages  it  was  shown  how  the 
specific  weakness  of  a  class  or  of  an  individual 
could  be  ascertained  and  how  progress  could  be 
measured.  It  is  now  appropriate  to  see  if  the 
same  thing  can  be  done  with  a  class  in  any  part 
of  the  theory  instruction.  The  same  fundamental 
principles  hold  good,  viz.,  the  division  of  the 
operation  into  its  constituent  units,  and  the 
analysis  and  classification  of  errors. 

Instead  of  the  units  of  omission,  addition,  sub- 
stitution, etc.,  that  appeared  in  the  transcript  of 
the  speed  test,  it  is  necessary  to  sub- 
s^itute  those  errors  that  are  liable  to 
occur  in  the  writing  of  the  shorthand 
outline.  These  may  be  considered  under  four 
main  heads  :  consonants,  vowels,  abbreviations, 
and  position.  It  should  be  possible  to  classify  all 
student  errors  under  one  of  these  heads.  In 
writing  a  word  he  may,  perhaps,  make  a  mistake 
in  each,  that  is,  he  may  use  the  wrong  vowel, 
write  the  wrong  consonant,  get  the  abbreviating 
expedient  incorrect,  and  write  the  word  out  of  its 
proper  position,  but  such  blundering  is  unusual. 
If  a  mistake  occurs  in  a  word,  it  must  be  an  error 
136 


MEASURING  RESULTS  IN   SHORTHAND         137 

in  the  writing  of  the  vowel,  the  consonants,   the 
abbreviation,  or  in  the  position  of  the  word. 

Mistakes  made  with  reference  to  vowels  may  be 
classified  under  one  of  the  following  :  omitted, 
added,  substituted,  and  place.  By  an 
omitted  vowel  is  meant  one  that  should 
be  written  and  which  is  not.  An  added 
vowel  is  one  which  is  written  and  which  is  not 
sounded  in  the  word.  A  substituted  vowel  is  one 
in  which  the  correct  symbol  is  not  used,  as  where 
a  dot  is  written  for  a  dash,  or  the  third  place  dot 
for  the  diphthong  I,  etc.  For  example,  if  the 
vowel  "  a  "  in  the  word  "  bait "  were  represented  by 
a  dash  written  in  the  second  place  after  the  "  b." 
A  vowel  which  should  properly  appear  in  the  first 
place  and  which  appears  in  the  third  place,  or  one 
which  should  be  written  before  the  stroke  and 
which  appears  after,  is  said  to  be  an  error  of  vowel 
placing.  In  the  example  cited  above,  if  the  dash 
appeared  before  the  consonant  "  b,"  there  would 
be  two  mistakes,  one  of  substitution  and  one  of 
place.  These  are  the  principal  vowel  errors,  and 
they  will  serve  to  determine  a  student's  strength 
or  weakness  in  dealing  with  this  part  of  the 
shorthand  system. 

The  errors  in  writing  the  consonants  may  be 
considered  under  four  heads  also  omitted,  added, 
substituted,  and  direction.  An  omitted 
consonant  is  one  that  is  left  out  when 
it  is  needed  in  the  stenographic  out- 
line. An  added  consonant  is  one  which  is  written 

»°— (499) 


138         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

when  not  needed,  as  the  insertion  of  the  "  t  "  in 
the  word  "  batch."  A  substituted  consonant  is 
the  use  of  a  light  for  a  heavy  stroke,  or  vice  versa, 
or  one  character  for  another.  It  does  not  cover 
the  use  of  the  circle  "  s  "  for  the  stroke,  nor  the 
consonant  "  r  "  for  the  hook  ;  but  only  the  use  of 
one  consonant  stroke  for  another.  A  mistake  in 
direction  deals  with  writing  the  upward  "  r  "  for 
the  downward,  or  vice  versa,  or  the  use  of  the  wrong 
form  for  "  sh,"  etc.  It  may  also  apply  to  the 
reverse  forms  of  "  fl,"  "  fr,"  etc. 

Errors   in   the   use   of   abbreviations   may   be 
classified  under  three  heads  as  follows  :    Unused, 
not  allowed,  and  incorrectly  written. 
Where  the  student  uses  a  stroke  when 
the  abbreviated  form,  the  hook,  circle, 
loop,  or  other  expedient  should  be  used,  it  is  a 
mistake  of  the  first  class,  where  a  student  uses 
the  hook,  circle,  loop  or  other  expedient  when  the 
stroke  should  be  written  on  account  of  the  vowel 
or  some  other  reason,  it  is  an  error  of  the  second 
class.    Errors  of  the  third  class  consist  of  using 
the  proper  means  of  representing  the  character 
but  writing  the  expedient  incorrectly  as  in  putting 
the  circle  on  the  left  side  of  "  p  "  in  the  word 
"  pass,"  or  writing  the  "  r  "  hook  on  the  side  for  "  1." 
The  last  class  of  error  is  that  of  position.     Where 
a  word  is  written  with  the  incorrect  vowel  and  the 
position  of  the  outline  is  made  to  con- 
form to  the  place  of  the  vowel,  there 
is  really  no  positional  error.     But  where  a  second 


MEASURING  RESULTS  IN   SHORTHAND         139 

place  vowel  is  used  and  the  word  is  written  in  the 
first  or  third  position,  there  is  an  error.  A 
mistake  in  position  exists  where  there  is  lack  of 
conformity  between  the  position  of  the  outline 
and  the  vowel  or  principal  vowel  actually  used 
in  writing  the  word. 

It  may  look  like  a  formidable  task  to  find  out  the 
specific  nature  of  each  error,  and  the  time  required 

may  discourage  some,  but  it  must  be 

borne  in  mind  that  the  information 
obtained  is  positive  and  worth  having,  for  it 
makes  possible  directly  the  application  of  the 
most  efficient  corrective.  If  the  analysis  shows 
a  student  weak  in  the  placing  of  vowels,  five  or 
ten  minutes'  personal  attention  to  that  student 
will  remove  the  deficiency.  The  experience  of 
those  who  have  corrected  tests  in  the  way  des- 
cribed above  has  been  that  the  time  is  increased 
from  one  quarter  to  one  half,  that  is,  if  it  takes  one 
hour  to  mark  the  papers,  just  checking  the  errors, 
it  will  take  ninety  minutes  to  check  the  errors 
and  classify  them. 

The  work  can  be  facilitated  by  the  use  of    a 
classification  sheet,  a  reproduction  of  which  will 

be  found  on  another  page.  One  of 
Sheets'*  these  sheets  is  used  for  each  student, 

and  as  soon  as  an  error  is  found  it  is 
marked  after  the  appropriate  division,  and  when 
all  the  errors  are  classified  this  sheet  tells  the  story 
of  the  student's  ability.  A  weakness  in  any 
special  department  of  the  work  can  be  observed 


140         METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SHORTHAND 

immediately.  These  student  classification  records 
are  then  assembled  on  one  class  record  sheet,  a 
reproduction  of  which  appears  on  the  page  following : 

CLASSIFYING  SHORTHAND   ERRORS. 
CONSONANTS —  TOTAL. 

1.  Omitted , 

2.  Substituted         

3.  Direction 

4.  Added 

VOWELS — 

1.  Omitted 

2.  Substituted         

3.  Place        

ABBREVIATIONS — 

1.  Unused 

2.  Not  Allowed 

3.  Incorrectly  Written 
WORD  POSITION 


Total 

Name Class Date 

Looking  at  this  chart  of  errors,  it  can  easily  be 
seen  what  is  the  power  of  each  student  in  the 
application  of  the  principles  he  is 
oSf  Cres°e  suPPosed  to  have  learned.  Assuming 
that  the  test  was  a  well-balanced  one, 
and  that  the  number  of  phrases  given  was  not  out 
of  proportion  to  the  number  of  words  and  gram- 
malogs,  it  is  obvious  that  more  attention  should 
be  given  to  phrasing.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there 
were  but  ten  phrases  in  the  test,  and  the  neglect 
of  this  factor  in  the  instruction  is  apparent.  In 
considering  the  writing  of  words,  the  table  shows 
that  the  greatest  class  weakness  is  in  the  use  of 
consonants  having  two  possible  representations, 


MEASURING  RESULTS  IN  SHORTHAND 


141 


STENOGRAPHY  I. 


INSTRUCTION  Hocus — 37. 


Oct.  jgth,  1912. 


NAME  OP 

STUDENT. 

VOWELS. 

CONSONANTS. 

ABBREVI- 
ATIONS. 

1 

Grammalogs. 

Phrases. 

J 

3 

| 

?' 

i 

3 

| 

V' 

1 
5 

1 

. 

1 

Incorrectly 
Written. 

1 

^ 

I 

s 

1 
O 

i 

1 

C/) 

1 

5 

< 
I 

A 

2 

I 

5 

2 

2 

3 

12 

i 

7 

35 
8 

B 



— 

X 

— 

— 

2 
2 

i 

I 

2 

a 

C 

2 

2 

6 

13 

D 





2 
X 

I 

i 

2 

i 



2 
2 

I 

3 

5 

it 
18 

E 

— 

2 

7 

F 

2 

2 

3 

I 

4 
5 

12 

G 

2 

i 

2 

I 

12 

H 

2 

2 

2 

7 

»3 

I 

4 

— 

4 

2 

8 

3 

9 

28 

J 

2 

I 

2 

3 

5 

5 

12 

K 

2 

3 

i 

7 

21 

L 

I 

I 

I 

i 

i 

3 

2 

I 

I 

6 

I 

6 

4 

«4 

7 

M 

I 

I 

N 

I 

i 

3 

I 

4 

10 

O 

z 

i 

i 

2 

I 

6 

12 

6 

P 



I 



— 

3 

2 
I 

t 

2 

I 

2 

Q 

I 

I 

i 

2 

6 

18 

R 

0 

I 

7 

16 

I 

4 

16 

2 
25 

i 

13 

2 

6 
08 

13 

273 

TOTAL 

5 

X 

15 

27 

16 

30 

and  differing  in  the  direction  in  which  they  are 
written.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  were  twenty- 
five  of  such  errors,  and  the  distribution  of  them 
is  quite  general,  only  three  students  not  having 
a  mistake  of  this  kind.  Even  though  there  were 


142         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

twenty-seven  incorrectly  written  abbreviations, 
as  a  class  weakness  it  is  not  greater  than  the  other, 
for  the  distribution  is  not  as  great,  twenty  of  the 
errors  being  made  by  two  students.  It  will  also 
be  seen  that  the  greatest  difficulty  with  the  vowels 
is  in  placing  them,  and  that  emphasis  should  be 
placed  upon  the  method  of  writing  the  abbreviations. 

As  to  the  individuals,  a  study  of  the  table  will 
show  any  specific  weakness  that  exists.  In  the 
case  of  student  I,  the  nature  of  the  work  to  be 
done  is  perfectly  clear.  In  the  matter  of  the  vowels 
he  knows  how  to  place  them,  but  he  does  not  know 
how  to  represent  them ;  in  the  use  of  the  con- 
sonants, he  is  not  troubled  with  the  direction 
strokes,  as  some  of  the  others  are,  but  there  is 
confusion  in  his  mind  as  to  the  selection  of  the 
means  of  representation,  which,  by  the  way,  is 
analogous  to  the  confusion  experienced  with  the 
vowels.  In  the  use  of  abbreviating  expedients, 
he  knows  when  they  should  or  should  not  be  used,  but 
he  cannot  execute  them  properly.  The  record  of  any 
other  student  will  tell  a  story  just  as  complete,  and 
will  indicate  in  the  same  way  the  precise  character 
of  the  work  that  will  most  profitably  be  done. 

After  the  first  abbreviating  expedient  has  been 
taught,  the  problem  of  representing  and  placing 

the  vowels  remains  fundamentally  the 
Constant  ,  ,  . 

and  same    throughout    the    entire    system 

Variable        until  the  principle  of  inter-vocalization 

Elements.       .  , 

is  met,  and  therefore  the  progress  of 

the  students  in  their  mastery  of  the  vowels  can 


MEASURING   RESULTS   IN    SHORTHAND          143 

always  be  measured  by  comparing  their  present 
ability  with  that  shown  in  a  previous  test.  In  a 
similar  way,  the  consonants  remain  the  same 
throughout  although  additional  examples  for 
strokes  having  two  directions  are  added. 

In  the  abbreviations  the  progress  of  the  student 
does  not  stand  out  so  clearly  because  each  test 
involves  a  separate  series  of  expedients,  one  test 
dealing  with  the  circles  and  loops,  and  the  next 
with  the  initial  hooks.  The  principle  of  position 
writing  remains  the  same  and  therefore  the 
student's  ability  in  this  respect  is  commensurable. 
The  phrases  change  in  the  same  way  as  the  abbre- 
viations. It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  there  are 
elements  of  the  test  which  are  constant,  and  there 
are  others  that  are  variable.  The  constant  ele- 
ments are  the  consonants,  vowels,  and  position 
writing,  and  these  are  susceptible  of  accurate 
measurement.  The  elements  which  vary  are  the 
abbreviations,  phrases,  and  grammalogs,  and 
while  the  test  may  serve  to  indicate  the  specific 
weakness  and  the  nature  of  future  work,  yet  under 
the  circumstances  progress  in  the  mastery  of  them 
cannot  be  accurately  measured  except  by  excluding 
from  the  test  all  material  which  is  different  from 
what  was  given  in  the  preceding  test. 

One  objection  that  has  been  raised  against  the 

plan  outlined  above  is  that  the  work  would  take 

too  long.     It  has  never  been  said  that 

the  knowledge  obtained  was  not  worth 

having,  but   it  has  been  said   that    the  teacher 


144         METHODS  OF  TEACHING   SHORTHAND 

always  knows  class  or  individual  weaknesses  and 
can  estimate  progress  without  doing  all  this 
work. 

In   regard   to  the  time  involved  it   must   be 
admitted  that  it  takes  longer.     But  the  architect 

who  draws  the  plan  of  a  house  to 
Answered8  accurate  measurement  takes  longer 

than  the  one  who  sketches  it  and  his 
drawing  is  likely  to  be  the  more  reliable  for  most 
purposes.  What  is  needed  in  education  nowaday 
is  accurate  information  and  not  merely  impressions. 
As  long  as  the  teacher  takes  his  work  as  a  vocation, 
and  not  as  an  avocation,  he  will  not  demur  at 
giving  time  to  a  process  that  will  render  his 
instruction  more  efficient.  The  statement  that 
any  teacher  can  tell  the  specific  weakness  of  each 
member  of  the  class  and  that  progress  is  easily 
apparent  sounds  reasonable  enough  but  it  is  not 
borne  out  by  the  facts.  The  writer  has  tried  the 
experiment  with  several  teachers  and  in  every 
case  there  was  considerable  variance  between  the 
estimated  results  and  the  actual  results  of  the  test. 


INDEX 


ACCURACY,  55 

Aim,  necessity  for  definite, 
11  ;  influence  of,  on  in- 
struction, 12  ;  threefold, 
14  ;  occupational,  voca- 
tional, and  general,  15  ; 
not  mutually  exclusive, 

16  ;     in   private  schools, 

17  ;  how  worked  out,  19  ; 
special,  19 

Alphabetic  lists,  36 
Application,     reproduction 

by,  57 
Assignment    of  work,    58  ; 

variety     of,     59 ;      time 

demanded,  59 
Attendance,    28 ;     marked 

from    exercise,    28 ;     by 

seating  plan,  29 
Attention,  holding  the,  54 

BLACKBOARDS,  24 ;  ruled, 
42  ;  and  dictation,  106 

CARELESS  WORK,  78 

Charts,  drill,  for  records,  40 

Checking,  35 

Classification,  results  of, 
126  ;  symbols  in,  130 

Class  records,  26 

"  Cold  Notes,"  105 

Commercial  education,  rise 
of,  1  ;  report  on,  15 

Consonant  errors,  137 

Commercial  schools,  serious 
objection  to,  15 

teachers,  preparation 

of,  2 

Constant  and  variable  ele- 
ments, 142 


Contractions  and  focaliza- 
tion,  53 

Co-operative  plan  of  in- 
struction, 72 

Correct  writing  habits,  84 

DAILY  RECORD  OF  HOME- 
WORK, 41 

Dictation,  effect  of,  on 
student's  English,  102  ; 
adapting  speed  of,  to 
class,  102 

Dictators,  substitute,  33 

Direct  method  of  instruc- 
tion, 62  ;  illustrations  of, 
64  ;  advantages  of,  66  ; 
disadvantages  of,  67 

Drill  charts,  40 

in  recitation,  49 ; 

accuracy  in,  55 

ERRORS  IN  VOWELS,   137  ; 

in  abbreviations,  138  ;  in 

position,    138 ;    in  time, 

139 
Essentials  of  repetition  and 

practice,  93 
Examinations,  reasons  for, 

108 

Exercise  clerk,  27 
Experience,  practical,  7 

FEDERAL  CIVIL  SERVICE, 
RATING  OF  SPEED  TESTS, 
119 

Focalization,  52 

GRAMMALOGS  AND 
FOCALIZATION,  52 

HAND-PUNCH,  USE  OF,  43 
Help  from  students,  76 


145 


146 


INDEX 


Homework,  correction  of, 
29 

IMPRESSIONS  UNRELIABLE, 
109 

Incentive  to  continued 
effort  in  speed  classes,  104 

Indirect  method  of  instruc- 
tion, 65  ;  examples  of,  66 

Instruction,  two  methods 
in,  62  ;  direct  method  of, 
62  indirect  method  of, 
65  other  methods  in, 
68  individual,  70  ; 
types  of  individual,  70  ; 
unit  method  of,  71  ; 
co-operative  plan  of,  72 

KNOWLEDGE  OF  THEORY, 
87 

MENTAL      HESITANCY, 

ELIMINATING,  89 
Metronome     for     dictation 

purposes,  44,  101 
Motiviation,  law  of,  51 
Municipal      Civil     Service, 

rating  of  speed  tests,  115; 

suggested  changes  in,  1 18 

NEWSPAPERS  IN  TEACHING, 

44 
Note-book  index,  74 

OUTLINES,  ORIGINAL,  87  ; 
discussion  on,  103 

PAPER,    DISTRIBUTION   OF, 

23 

Pedagogical  training,  9 
Physical  strain,  eliminating, 

86 
Pitman,  Isaac  the  genius  of, 

6 
Plans,    discussion    of,    80  ; 

criteria  for  judging,  81 


Preparation  of  commercial 

teachers,  2 

Principles,  fundamental,  21 
Private  schools,  aim  in,  17 
Problems  in  Shorthand, 

nature  of,  61 

QUESTION  AND  ANSWER,  56 

RATING     THEORY     TESTS 

113;    speed  tests,  115 
Reading,  importance  of,  94 
notes,  94 


Recitation,  variety  of,  47  ; 

purpose  in  ;    elements  of, 

48  ;    49,  50 
Record  card,  135 
sheets,  139 


Regents  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  117 

Repetition,  grammalogs 
and,  53  ;  speed  practice 
and,  92 

Reproduction,  55  ;  com- 
monest forms  of,  56 

Results,  what  plan  mea- 
sures, 122  ;  percentages 
unsatisfactory,  123  ;  two 
steps  necessary,  124 

Rubber  stamps,  use  of,  37 

SCHEME  OF  VALUATIONS, 
114 

Shorthand  recitation, mean- 
ing and  variety,  47  ;  pur- 
pose of,  48  ;  elements  of, 
48  ;  length  of,  50 

teaching,  nature  of 

problems  in,  61 

Social  service  among  stu- 
dents, 22 

Speed,  97  ;  teacher's  pre- 
paration for,  98  ;  test  of 
preparation  by  student, 
98  ;  drill,  99  ;  repetition 
in,  100;  rating  of,  115 


INDEX 


147 


Stenographic     speed,     83 ; 

vocabulary,  91 
Stop-watch,  use  of,  39 
Student  dictators,  100 
Symbols,  130 
System,    danger    from    too 

much,  33 

TEACHER  OF  SHORTHAND, 
academic  preparation  of, 
5  ;  general  education  of, 
4  ;  and  knowledge  of  his 
subject,  6 ;  physical 
qualifications  of,  3  ;  prac- 
tical experience  of,  7  ; 
the  ideal,  10  ;  training  as 
teacher,  9 

Teacher's  Work,  31 

Test  sheets,  37 

Tests,  31  ;  mode  of,  110; 
from  standpoint  of  stu- 
dent, 112  ;  rating  of,  113  ; 
reasons  for,  108 


Time    demanded    for    stu- 
dent's work,  59 
Topical  outline,  57 


UNIT  METHOD  OF  INDI- 
VIDUAL INSTRUCTION,  71 

Units  of  operation  in  mea- 
suring results,  136 


VALUATIONS  IN  TESTS, 
SCHEME  OF,  114 

Ventilation,  30 

Vocabulary,  90  ;  steno- 
graphic, 91 

Vowel  errors,  marking  of, 
137 


WORD-CARRY  CAPACITY,  89 
Work,  arrangement  of,  31 


Press  of    Isaac  Pitman  &•  Sons,  Bath,  England. 
(499) 


Fifth  'Edition.    Thoroughly  Revised  mad  Enlarged; 

How  to  Become  a  Law 
Stenographer 

By  W.  L.  MASON,  Author  of  "  Supplementary  Exercises  in 

Isaac  Pitman  Shorthand  " 

A  WORK  unique  in  its  plan,  scope  and  arrangement  is  this 
"  Compendium  of  Legal  Forms."  Many  attempts  have  been  made 
to  compile  a  book  which  should  meet  the  requirements  of  steno- 
graphers aiming  to  fill  positions  in  law  offices,  or  to  become  law 
reporters,  but  none  have  remained  long  in  print  because  their  scope 
was  not  broad  enough  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  ambitious  shorthand 
writers.  Here  is  presented  a  series  of  documents  which  have  been 
actually  used  in  court  work  and  legal  transactions.  They  are  not 
only  carefully  arranged  as  to  form,  paragraphing,  etc.,  as  a  guide 
to  the  typist,  but  are  accompanied  by  clear  and  lucid  explanations, 
making  the  work  intelligible  to  the  average  stenographer. 

To  bring  this  book  more  thoroughly  up  to  date,  and  to  make 
it  a  veritable  vade  mecum  for  the  neophyte,  the  new  edition  just 
issued  contains  an  appendix  with  a  very  complete  list  of  law  words 
and  legal  terms,  accompanied  by  engraved  shorthand  outlines  and 
type  key.  This,  with  the  list  of  Latin  phrases  and  their  English 
equivalents,  makes  the  work  the  most  complete  of  its  kind  in  exist- 
ence. No  teacher,  business  college  or  high  school  Commercial 
Department  can  afford  to  be  without  it,  since  it  is  well  adapted  for 
both  a  text-book  and  a  handbook.  It  is  specially  valuable  for 
advanced  practice  dictation. 

"  This  compendium  of  legal  forms  is  entirely  unique,  and  designed 
to  form  a  ready  and  practical  aid  to  familiarity  with  law  work  and 
is  intended  for  use  in  high  schools  and  business  colleges  as  well  as 
by  individual  stenographers  and  typists  who  desire  to  prepare 
themselves  to  fill  lucrative  positions  in  law  offices  or  as  court 
reporters.  This  work  fills  a  need  which  is  not  met  by  any  other 
work  on  the  subject.  It  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  treatise  on  com- 
mercial law,  but  a  book  containing  a  large  number  and  variety 
of  law  forms  simplified  and  accompanied  by  directions  and  explana- 
tions for  arranging  on  the  typewriter.  The  forms  presented  for 
study  are  authentic  legal  documents  used  in  real  legal  transactions 
or  in  actual  cases,  and  among  them  it  will  be  seen  are  a  set  of  legal 
documents  peculiar  to  sections  of  the  country  outside  of  New  York. 
The  index  is  especially  valuable  and  complete,  and  teachers  and 
students  of  stenography  and  typewriting  will  find  the  book  a  genuine 
labor  saver.  The  compiler  of  the  book  is  an  experienced  court 
reporter  and  able  to  handle  his  subject  clearly  and  authoritatively." 
— ^San  Francisco  "  Call,"  San  Francisco,  Col. 

"  A  valuable  text-book  on  '  How  to  become  a  Law  Stenographer  ' 
is  compiled  by  W.  L.  Mason,  a  court  reporter  of  long  experience. 
It  is  intended  for  use  in  high  schools,  business  colleges  and  by 
individual  stenographers  and  typists.  It  is  not  a  treatise  upon 
commercial  law,  but  a  book  of  law  forms,  simplified  and  accompanied 
by  explanations  and  directions  for  arranging  on  the  typewriter, 
admirably  compiled  and  thoroughly  practical." — Chicago  Daily 
News,  Chicago,  III. 

" '  How  to  Become  a  Law  Stenographer '  is  a  practical  aid  in 
securing  a  familiar  knowledge  with  law  work.  It  is  compiled  in 
an  able  manner  and  will  be  of  valuable  service  to  individual  steno- 
graphers as  well  as  to  teachers  preparing  students  for  legal  work." 
—Catholic  World,  New  York. 

Price,  stiff  boards,  cloth  back,  76c.    Full  doth,  $1.00. 

ISAAC  PITMAN  &  SONS,  2  WEST  45th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 


ELEVENTH  EDITION,  Entirely  Ketet.  Revised, 
and  Printed  from  New  Plate* 

A  Practical  Course 
in  Touch  Typewriting 

(Adopted  by  the  New  York,  Boston  and  Baltimore  High  Schoolr) 
By  CHAS.  E.  SMITH 

Author  of  "  Cumulative  Speller  and  Shorthand  Vocabulary  " 

TH«  reason  of  the  phenomenal  success  of  "  A  Practical  Course  " 
tests  mainly  in  the  scientific  and  pedagogical  way  in  which  the 
student  advances  while  mastering  the  keyboard.  The  strong 
fingers  are  not  strengthened  at  the  expense  of  the  weak  fingers ; 
neither  are  the  weak  fingers  wearied  with  drills  in  advance  of  their 
more  nimble  brothers.  All  the  fingers  are  trained  all  the  time, 
with  due  consideration  for  the  strength  and  suppleness  of  each. 
The  student  goes  from  the  known  to  the  unknown,  the  line  of  least 
resistance  being  followed  throughout,  so  that  he  acquires  the  ability 
to  write  by  touch  almost  before  he  knows  it.  This  method  has 
been  one  of  the  fundamental  factors  in  producing  the  majority  of 
the  most  rapid  and  most  accurate  typists  of  the  last  few  years. 

"  I  have  been  using  '  Practical  Course  in  Touch  Typewriting ' 
in  my  Day  School  and  Evening  School  classes  for  one  and  one-half 
years  and  find  it  the  most  practical  text  on  typewriting  that  I  have 
examined.  The  lessons  are  so  carefully  arranged  that  my  beginning 
classes  never  realize  that  they  are  meeting  and  overcoming  an; 
difficulties.  The  small  boy  who  wants  to  '  write  a  letter '  has  an 
opportunity  afforded  early  in  the  course.  The  lessons  on  figures, 
usually  so  difficult  to  learn,  or  so  poorly  presented,  is  arranged  so 
that  the  pupil  cannot  help  learning  it.  The  legal  work,  specifica- 
tions and  tabulating  work  for  the  advanced  student  needs  no 
commendation  from  me." — R.  H.  Baker,  Principal,  Commercial 
Dept.,  High  School,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

"  We  have  used  your  '  Practical  Course  in  Touch  Typewriting  * 
in  our  Shorthand  Department  for  several  years.  We  have  exam- 
ined, I  believe,  practically  every  text-book  on  typewriting  so  far 
published,  having  tried  out  several  of  them  in  the  classroom,  but 
each  test  makes  us  like  your  text  the  better.  One  feature  which 
especially  appeals  to  us  is  that  practically  the  entire  keyboard  is 
covered  in  the  first  five  budgets.  In  other  words,  we  believe  that 
with  this  system  the  very  best  results  are  reached  in  the  shortest 
possible  time,  which  is,  of  course,  a  very  important  item  in  this 
work." — /.  Kugler,  Jr.,  Principal,  Coleman  National  Business 
College,  Newark,  N.  J. 


Price  50  cents.       Cloth,  75  cents. 

Published  lor  Single  and  Doable  Keyboard,  also  for  the  Oliver  and 
Remington  and  Smith  Premier  No.  10. 

A  separate  cardboard  Chart  of  the  Keyboard  printed  in  five  colon 
accompanies   each   copy. 


ISAAC  PITMAN  &  SONS,  1  WEST  45th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 


Cumulative  Speller  and 
Shorthand  Vocabulary 

By  THE  AUTHOR  OF  "  A  PRACTICAL  COURSE  IN  TOUCH 
TYPEWRITING." 

THIS  work  meets  mudern  requirements  and  represents  the  best 
of  the  old  and  new  methods.  The  stenographer  who  aspires  to 
greatness  through  the  mistaken  notion  that  inaccuracy  in  the  matter 
of  spelling  is  an  evidence  of  genius  will  do  well  not  to  lay  his  claims, 
in  the  shape  of  a  letter  for  signature,  before  his  employer.  While 
the  subject  of  reformed  spelling  is  attracting  general  attention  all 
over  the  world,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  never  before  have  business  men 
placed  so  high  a  value  upon  the  ability  to  spell  the  words  of  the 
English  language  correctly.  It  behooves  principals  of  schools  and 
colleges,  therefore,  to  see  that  the  students  who  attend  their  institu- 
tions with  a  view  to  entering  the  business  world,  become  possessors 
of  a  good  vocabulary  of  business  terms  and  the  ability  to  spell  all 
difficult  words  in  general  use  without  the  least  hesitation. 


"  After  a  thorough  examination  of  the  '  Cumulative  Speller,'  1 
am  convinced  that  there  is  no  better  book  on  this  subject  published. 
We  have  '  Spelling  Books  '  and  '  Spellers ' — the  greater  part  of 
them  being  made  up  of  words  not  in  common  use.  Such  text-books 
do  not  cover  the  real  need.  The  '  Cumulative  Speller '  contains  a 
large  number  of  common  words,  most  frequently  mispelled.  Its 
definitions  are  clear  and  accurate ;  the  plan  suggested  for  teaching 
in  itself,  emphasizes  the  importance  of  this  subject.  The  mechani- 
cal construction  of  the  book  is  not  the  least  of  its  merits.  The 
book  has  a  just  claim,  and  if  progressive  teachers  will  give  it  a 
careful  examination  its  adoption  will  undoubtedly  be  assured." — 
W.  H.  Shepard,  Commercial  Department,  High  School,  Paterson, 

"Your  'Cumulative  Speller'  will  meet  a  positive  want.  Short- 
hand Schools  would  greatly  lessen  the  labor  of  their  teachers,  and 
place  an  honest  advantage  in  the  hands  of  their  students  by  adopting 
this  book."— £.  E.  Mutt,  Mull's  School,  Broadway  and  66th  St., 
N.Y.  City. 

"  I  have  carefully  examined  the  '  Cumulative  Speller  and  Short- 
hand Vocabulary '  and  am  so  well  pleased  with  it  that  I  have  ordered 
copies  for  use  in  my  2B  and  3A  shorthand  classes.  I  feel  confident 
that  the  use  of  this  book  will  not  only  be  a  great  help  in  increasing 
the  student's  vocabulary  in  both  shorthand  outlines  and  in  English, 
but  also  will  be  invaluable  in  helping  to  make  more  efficient  spellers 
of  them." — Eldon  M.  Van  Duten,  Far  Rockaway,  N.  Y. 


Cloth,  gilt  lettering.  145  pp.        Price  50c. 

•»*  A  special  edition  of  this  work  is  published  without  the  shorthand 
Vocabulary  at  400. 

ISAAC  PITMAN  &  SONS,  2  WEST  45th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 


FIFTH    EDITION    REVISED 

—  Style- Book  — 


of   Business   English 

By  H.  W.  HAMMOND 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  1909-1911 
INCLUDING 

Card-Indexing    and    Letter    Recording 

"  IT  is  a  real  pleasure  to  me  to  testify  to  the  merits  of  your '  Style- 
Book  of  Business  English.'  I  recommend  your  book  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons  :  It  is  so  comprehensive,  thoroughly  practical,  and 
above  all,  it  is  so  plainly  composed  that  a  teacher  even  unfamiliar 
with  the  subject  can  conduct  a  class  with  it.  Moreover,  it  is  a 
system  that  holds  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  pupils  from 
start  to  finish." — Prof.  F.  R.  Beygrau,  Columbia  University,  New 
York  City. 

"  Your  '  Style- Book  of  Business  English  '  is  the  only  text  that  I 
know  of  that  contains  completely  and  in  lesson  form  all  the  points 
on  business  correspondence  needed  by  students  of  stenography, 
bookkeeping  and  typewriting." — Irving  Green,  St.  John's  College, 
Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

"  Instruction  in  business  English  has  always  presented  serious 
problems  to  those  charged  with  the  direction  of  commercial  courses 
and  the  new  enlarged  fourth  edition  of  Mr.  Hammond's  well-known 
Style-Book  cannot  fail  to  be  welcomed  by  many  teachers  of  English 
in  commercial  high  schools,  and  by  those  engaged  in  commercial 
instruction  of  every  scope.  The  attempt  to  teach  formal  grammar 
in  the  short  commercial  English  courses  has  proved  of  doubtful 
value,  and  the  point  of  view  which  Mr.  Hammond  holds  in  approach- 
ing his  task  is  obviously  the  most  practical  one." — The  School 
Journal,  New  York. 

"  For  the  young  man  and  young  woman  who  have  but  a  year 
or  two  to  spend  in  high  school  and  then  expect  to  enter  a  business 
office,  '  Style-Book  of  Business  Enghsh  '  will  be  of  more  practical 
value  than  the  best  work  extant  on  English  liteniry  style.  It 
presupposes  a  thorough  knowledge  of  grammar  aud  spelling  and 
proposes  to  teach  those  special  forms  of  diction  which  are  both 
good  English  and  good  business  form.  The  first  half  of  the  book 
takes  up  those  general  principles  of  diction  which  every  business 
man  should  be  acquainted  with,  and  the  second  enters  at  length 
into  those  details  of  correspondence  typography  which  the  steno- 
grapher alone  needs  to  have  at  his  fingers'  ends.  An  appendix 
contains  a  description  of  the  leading  modern  filing  systems,  a  glossary 
of  commercial  terms  and  abbreviations.  Students  who  seek  to 
qualify  for  regents  examinations  will  find  that  the  book  covers  all 
required  topics." — The  American  School  Board  Journal. 

232  pp.,  cloth,  gold  lettering,  85  cents 
ISAAC  PITMAN  &  SONS,  2  WEST  45th  ST.,  NEW  YOkK 


THIRD  *  EDITION     REVISED 

=  Pitman's  ===== 


Progressive  Dictator 

The  Latest  and  Best  Dictation  Book 


ALL  the  letters  in  this  book  originated  in  actual  business  dictation 
and  are  intended  to  illustrate  the  use  of  the  English  language  in 
up-to-date  business  correspondence.  As  each  business,  trade  or 
profession  has  its  own  peculiar  terminology,  familiarity  with  it 
can  be  acquired  only  by  careful  study  of  actual  correspondence. 
The  present  work  comprises  letters  relating  to  twenty-seven 
different  professions  and  trades,  each  selection  being  preceded  by 
an  engraved  shorthand  vocabulary  and  a  list  of  phrases.  The 
letters  of  each  business  are  divided  into  quarter-minute  periods 
for  60,  80,  and  100  words  a  minute,  while  an  original  method  is 
given  by  which  the  divisions  of  15,  20,  and  25,  may  each  be  used 
tor  dictation  at  any  one  of  the  three  rates.  This  valuable  device 
actually  increases  threefold  the  amount  of  dictation  matter  by 
making  every  letter  serviceable  at  any  rate  per  minute,  whether 
60,  So,  or  1 06. 

Many  pages  of  supplementary  matter  are  also  provided  for 
advanced  writers,  marked  off  for  speed  practice,  while  there  is 
given  the  entire  dictation  matter  used  at  the  International  Speed 
Contest  at  Philadelphia,  April  iS,  1908.  All  this  matter  is  marked 
off  in  quarter-minute  periods  for  speed  up  to  260  words  a  minute. 

"  I  did  not  use  the  '  Progressive  Dictator  '  very  long  until  I  saw 
that  you  had  placed  in  my  hands  by  far  the  best  dictation  book  that 
has  come  to  my  notice.  The  spacing  of  the  letters  for  various  rates 
of  dictation,  the  variety  of  the  correspondence  presented,  and  the 
correct  shorthand  vocabulary  at  the  top  of  each  page  are  features  of 
surpassing  merit.  Another  feature  of  your  book,  which  I  regard  as 
more  important,  perhaps,  than  any  of  the  three  already  mentioned, 
is  the  general  correctness  of  the  letters  grammatically  and  rhetori- 
cally. Much  time  is  saved  by  the  use  of  this  book,  for  it  is  not 
necessary  for  the  teacher  to  correct  letters  while  dictating." — Frank 
E.  DeM,  High  School,  Flushing,  N.  Y. 


Cloth,  gilt,  220  pages.  Price  85  cent* 

Teachers'  Examination  copy,  postpaid.  57  cents.      Mention  school 

•»•  A  special  edition  of  this  work  entitled  "  The  Progressive 
Dictator "  is  also  issued,  without  the  shorthand  characters,  for 
those  schools  teaching  other  than  the  Isaac  Pitman  system. 
Price  75  cents. 


ISAAC  PITMAN  &  SONS,  2  WEST  45th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  lastdate  stamped  below. 


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